Scary Stories with Zinnia
by Yugoslavia
Summary: Ash and Serena (along with their friends) all take the trip they've always dreamed of to the Magic Kingdom, but a mysterious newcomer sidetracks their vacation when Serena visits another theme park no one has ever heard of. Contains Amourshipping.
1. Prologue

_"Yo-ho, yo-ho! A piiirate's life f'r me! Ahaheheheh—hic!"_

The rear of the boat butted up against the front of another, jostling Serena from sleep—again. It was the same motion she had felt moments earlier, but this one was much rougher than she had expected and come to be used to—and it finally woke her up.

Serena's eyes fluttered open, feeling the weight of a long sleep still settled on them. Her eyes crossed as soon as they opened, seemingly the result of every single muscle in Serena's face having been relaxed, making her vision blurred until she had the chance to rub them properly and blink a few times, letting them straighten. As she did, the hazy orange atmosphere of everything around her came into view, giving her the chance to adjust to her surroundings and truly see what was going on.

She was still in the boat, still on the waterway track for Pirates of the Caribbean—the fresh smell of the water reminding her of that _—_ but everything was seemingly wrong. The stone foundations that constructed all of the walls, the same kind through the town scenes, were all ajar like they were about to collapse. Stacks of old stones and broken beams braced what were collapsed sections of the wooden roof. The flickering, orange atmosphere around it all suddenly became clear to Serena—there was a fire. On the other sides of the stone walls, through cracks and through open windows, flickers of orange light suggested flames all around them. The timbers that had fallen, from the old wooden structure that supported everything behind them, glowed at the ends where flame had charred into the broken beams and was turning them into glowing orange coals.

To Serena's side, outside the boat, a drunken pirate laid on top of a cannon on his belly, the whole cannon barrel tipping up and down gently and moving him slowly, wielding a nearly empty glass bottle of booze in one hand of a crossed arm and a loaded pistol in the other. As he mumbled something incoherent out of his rubber lips, his eyes slowly wandering as he looked around the room, the barrel of the cannon thudded and pumped out smoke, booming as it fired something from the end that pointed at Serena. It made her flinch, getting up quickly as to dodge the invisible cannonball—only to hear it splash in the water on the other side of the boat, right on the side of several other drunken pirates that sat on shore.

 _"A piiirate's life—ehehee!_ _—a_ _piii_ _rate's life for me!"_

Ash's coat fell to the bottom of the boat, piling up down by his sneakers. The infectious warmth that had kept bringing Serena back into the lull of her nap was gone now, and though the chill of the A/C of the ride was refreshingly brisk it wasn't anything that set Serena on edge. It was then that Serena remembered: she had been cuddled up next to Ash.

"Oh, hey Serena! That was a long nap, huh?"

Serena turned to face Ash. He was slouched, leaning back against the back of the bench in the boat, a bunched-up portion of his shirt the only evidence that Serena's head had been resting there moments ago. He looked relaxed, grinning, though it looked as though he had been sleeping too.

"Ash…! Did… Did you nap too?" asked Serena, incredulously. It was dawning on her that she was on Pirates of the Caribbean—not that she didn't know she was on it before, but that she had fallen asleep on it, and they were still on it, not moving at all.

"No! But, I guess I was being a pretty good bed or something for you to sleep the whole time, right?"

Serena chuckled. She stretched her arms, yawning. "Yeah, something like that..."

Up above them, a grip of barrels dangled from a fraying, old rope, swinging gently in the firelight and perpetually threatening to drop on them. Their boat wasn't moving any further down the track, and it couldn't. Just ahead of them, dozens and dozens of boats filled the waterway and backed up to the ramp that lifted the boats out of the waterfall. The ramp itself, lined with boats up its track, was stopped.

As Serena sat herself up in the boat and gauged their surroundings with tired, baggy eyes, she saw the scene around them continuing to unfold, with the pirate on the cannon continuing to swing his pistol mechanically and bob on the cannon, and the pirates on the shore opposite them behaving equally as drunk as they threatened to teeter into the water, their life-like movements perpetually on loops. Above the crackling, artificial sound of flames that filled the room, the singing of 'yo-ho, yo-ho' had become deranged and drunken as it came from the loopy looking pirates figures, their lips appropriately out of sync—all as the room had been designed for a single pass-through of a boat.

"How long have we been down here…?" asked Serena.

Ash seemed distracted, focused on something happening just past her shoulders. "I don't know—maybe fifteen, twenty minutes? The worker guy said it might be like another ten minutes before they got the ramp working again, but I figured you were still sleeping so I'd wait for you to finish, you know?"

Serena looked aghast, a mixture of surprise and confusion appearing on her lips. She stared, somewhat confused, seemingly looking past Ash. "Then..." she began quietly, then looking to the front part of the boat, seeing that the first row and the first bench that had had both of their Pokemon on it—Ash's Pikachu, her Braixen, her Pancham and her Sylveon—was now empty. How could they have been alone? Where they did go? Before she could ask, her question was painted all over her face, and Ash knew exactly what to say.

"He took them with them, the worker guy. I had said they could go if they wanted, and he was totally in agreement—something about Pokemon being restless in stuck rides and getting freaked out by anima-somethings and causing 'happy accidents' with like blowing up things… Weird, but whatever."

A satisfying explanation, for sure. Serena was relaxed by the thought, choosing to sink back in her seat. As she did, the position slipped her back naturally against the plastic backside of the bench, but it also slid her back into the familiar, warm embrace of Ash's arm. The length of his arm that his t-shirt exposed felt good against the nape of Serena's neck, the skin radiating with warmth and touching the unusually cold part of Serena just beneath the trimmed length of her hair. She felt a shiver travel down her, her whole body resisting the urge to cringe or relax, not wanting to leave the moment but not wanting to enjoy it too much.

Serena could feel Ash's eyes on her again. He was looking past her, she knew it, looking at something just past her shoulders like he had moments earlier. Serena paid no mind to it, but she could still feel her looking at her—even if she deeply, deeply didn't think it. It came to the point where she couldn't let it pass, and she let her gaze wander as far as it could to the side before she physically had turn her head to look at him. Ash wasn't looking at her face, but he was looking at her—a spot beside her head. Gingerly, she reached a hand towards the space just behind her head where Ash was looking, eventually brushing against and finding stiff strands of hair sticking out from her scalp—she had bed-head, the result of napping on Ash's shoulder. It made her sit up a bit and flinch, trying to brush it down with the palm of her hand and flatten it, resulting in a few spare laughs from Ash.

"Sorry…" Serena mumbled out, fidgeting where she sat until the strands of hair on her head felt somewhat smoothed down.

"What? Sorry? Serena, it's fine! It's actually kinda…"

The trail in Ash's voice sent shivers down Serena' s spine, as in her head she filled in the end of the sentence with word choices of her own—like, 'cute', or 'beautiful', or—other words that made her heart thud and block out her imagination. Then, taking a breath, Serena came to her senses—Ash maybe meant 'funny', or 'natural'—some other word that would reinforce Ash's status as the thickest-headed guy in the whole Kalos region and set things back the way they were.

"Kinda what?" asked Serena, testing the waters as she looked back. She couldn't bear to face him then, but instead looked down at his knees.

"I… I don't know…?" Ash shrugged. His hat bobbed up a bit, resting on tufts of bushy black hair as he scratched behind his head for thought, moments before squishing it back down onto his head. "I… I guess the first thing that came to my mind just sounded weird… but I couldn't think of anything else to say…"

The complexion of Serena's face was practically purple, the entirety of her face having grown so dark a shade of red it looked unhealthy. She was steaming, stewing in her seat, her boots involuntarily fidgeting down on the floor of the boat. She couldn't take it too much longer.

"It couldn't be that silly..." said Serena, quietly. "What was it? You can tell me..."

When Ash hesitated, Serena finally gained the courage to look at him with her own eyes. Ash's face seemed to be glowing too—though Serena had silently thanked the orange glow of the firelight all around them for masking the intensity of her own flushed face, it tempted her feelings when she saw Ash and couldn't tell if he was even slightly red in the face, as it sincerely did look like he was blushing. It wasn't like he was hiding something, it was that he was coming to some kind of realization, his eyes searching the air in front of him like he was reading over something in his mind.

"It… looks…"

"Yes…?" asked Serena, her excitement making her inadvertently impatient.

"Really… really good…" Ash smiled gently, looking back into Serena's eyes.

The smile on Serena's face had grown to infectious lengths, seemingly infecting herself with each inch it grew becoming longer than the last by the second. It made her stir with excitement, her heart beating unabashedly in her tiny, bird cage of a chest.

"I… I know it sounds really dumb… the truth is, I… I just honestly feel that way, and I can't explain it any other way… you know…?"

"Some things don't really need an explanation…" Serena said, the words coming naturally out of her, unscripted but all the more truthful. She seemed even a little surprised at what she was saying, and her boldness. "They just are, and… and that's okay… the heart wants what it wants…"

A warm, tingling sensation sprouted on the edge of Serena's lips, trance-like and enchanting. The feelings that came to her usually were accompanied by a strong desire to look away, but Serena didn't feel that—instead, she felt a new gravitation, a new warm sensation flooding her insides as she kept her eyes on Ash's and never looked away. Something strange and magical was happening in that moment, and though Serena couldn't pin her finger on what it was, she knew exactly what was happening deep down—it was natural and something that had always been present.

Serena scooted her body around on the bench, her leg folding beneath hers and sliding a little more onto the bench, her hands finding the rails on either side of her that lined the tops of the boat benches, gripping for what was seemingly the wildest moment on the ride. She took a deep gulp of air before raising her head, looking up to Ash—he too had turned himself, facing Serena, looking down into her eyes and seemingly becoming nervous as well.

Then, slowly, Serena and Ash craned their heads in together, moving naturally in until their lips brushed against one another—they felt warm, wet, gentle, the electric moment suspended for a bare second until they completed the kiss, aligning the folds of their lips for a gentle kiss. Eyes shut, bodies dangerously close, they held their lips together for a long moment. A shuddering sensation built through Serena, inexplicably, as she felt where Ash's hand came over hers and rested atop it. For once, she could fully relax around Ash—even though her body told her to be excited—and feel the closeness of his body to hers. Her hand turned and faced upward on the rail, his fingers sinking into hers and locking.

Taking in a small, smooth breath of air, Serena let her eyes gently peek open, feeling Ash's lips pull away. It felt like her heart had stopped, and even the thick breath of air she had taken felt like it could've been the last she ever needed. The scent of Ash was filled with the strong stench of boy—all of its good flavors and bad, and Serena couldn't possibly let go of it.

"I… I know you weren't cold… earlier... you just went along with it…" Ash said, quietly.

Serena's eyes had been transfixed on Ash's lips without her even knowing it, her mind repeating every second of what had happened not even a moment ago. As she looked up, she looked into Ash's eyes and saw the knowing look in his eyes. Somehow, it made her feel like he could see everything she was thinking, like every part of her had been lain naked in front of him, and somehow she was okay with that—it was a trust she hadn't ever felt before, knowing comfortably that her affection for him had been returned, and that he meant it.

"You're scared of pirates…" said Ash, his smile becoming cheeky.

Serena giggled, hardly believing that Ash was ready to make jokes after that—but, somehow, remembering that was part of his charm. As her brief giggling fit subsided, she realized that Ash wasn't laughing, and when she looked up into his eyes she saw that Ash still looked genuine and that his smile was really teasing, she looked indignant.

"W-What…? Are you serious…?"

The conversation went on, with the two of them happily chatting and bantering with each other over whether or not Serena was really afraid of pirates, and why Serena really did end up lying. They were plenty happy, but there was chemistry between the two of them that was unspoken.

But all of it was unheard, at least to one person in the background.

A prop barrel stood near the mouth of the entrance where the 'burning' room that Ash and Serena were in began, and the room before it ended—the burning jail cell where three unlucky pirates were trying to get the attention of a dog who had the key to their cell. Slowly, the top lid on the barrel rose up, pushed up by a head that rose. Someone peeked out of it—it wasn't one of the many human-like Audio Animatronic figures that filled the passageways of Pirates of the Caribbean, or a more marketable character from a very successful movie franchise of the same name—it was a real flesh and blood human being. A pair of red eyes gleamed beneath a ragged head of jet-black hair, staring out and watching the only two humans in the whole room as they chatted, laughed, then kissed again.

The head ducked down back into the barrel, disappearing from sight. As it did, the mechanisms of the ride's ramp up out of the last room turned on with a powerful hum, switching on and beginning to move the lone boat that was on it. Then the next boat started to rise up it, and Ash and Serena's boat coasted ahead, moving to be one of the many boats in line ahead of them.

As Serena broke from another kiss, her eyes wandering up towards Ash and meeting his eyes, she smiled gently, daylight from the ramp up above them casting down on their faces as their boat jerkily moved onto the ramp in front of it.

In Serena's head, there was only one question on her mind: how did they get here?


	2. Star Tours

**_Earlier that day..._**

* * *

 _"There has been a gate change for Star Tours flight 1-14, StarSpeeder service to Endor. Flight 1-14 will now be departing from gate number 2. This is a gate change only. Thank you."_

"Well, that's one flight I have no intention of getting on board," said C-3PO, glancing towards R2-D2, moments before returning his attention to the control console on the wall beside him. "If I get any more dirt in my servos I won't have a single working part in my whole body—and that'll mean a short trip to the scrap heap for the _both_ of us, I can assure you of that."

C-3PO's arms wandered over several of the flashing lights on the board in front of him, searching them and looking between it and the displays just in front of him. Before he could go to adjust anything, a shrill series of squeals and beeps came from R2-D2 in protest, getting his attention. C-3PO leaned back, his head tilting indignantly.

"What do you mean, 'that's where we're going'? Does the captain have any idea what they are getting into with that planet? Didn't you tell him about our little misadventures there on that planet?"

R2-D2 squawked, turning his head and whistling sharply.

"What do you mean 'it slipped your mind'? _We_ are not going anywhere near that planet—or at least I'm not, but _you_ on the other hand are certainly welcome to try. You can't get me into one of those ships, you know how much I hate space travel. You may have a fine trip, R2-D2, but don't come crawling back to me if there's any trouble—if you even come back at all."

The large, open hall of the ride queue for Star Tours boomed with sound, with the low hum of the Starspeeder 3000 as it sat in the repair bay playing loudly only rivaling the lull of conversation coming from all of the ride-goers. Announcements for the various 'flights' played from the front of the queue, where a large digital screen was hung on the wall showing 'flight times' and 'gate changes'. Though the lights were dim inside, outside were the bright daylight that cast in from the outside world as hundreds of people crossed down the main path into Tomororwland.

A large white facade of a Starspeeder 3000 stood in a 'bay' in front of the wall that divided the front half of the queue from the rest of it, black charred marks of battle blasted across its side and various panels removed for repair. A dozen hoses traveled up to the front and all around it, providing fuel and other resources to it. In the top of the Starspeeder, R2-D2 was sitting in his co-pilot slot, his head turning as smoothly as it did in the movies, lights blinking beneath the many interfaces on his dome. Just across from him, standing beside where R2-D2 was in the Starspeeder, C-3PO stood on a raised platform against a column in the wall, standing at his post beside an array of blinking buttons and moving readouts on the Starspeeder. He gleamed in all his beaten, brass-colored glory, his stiff movements as authentic as ever.

 _'Snap!'_

A bright light flashed from the front of Serena's camera, her eyes squinting as she looked through the tiny viewfinder on it. As she lowered it and looked to the small LCD display, a brief instance of the scene she had seen in real life only moments earlier came to her, C-3PO's darkened posture appearing as he stood on the platform.

"Serena, aren't you not allowed to take flash pictures or something?" asked Ash, looking over. When Serena turned he saw that she was visibly annoyed from a moment, only to see her expression falter and disappear just as soon as it had appeared.

"I—Sorry, Ash, I guess I just thought this was the sort of thing Clemont would love to see..." said Serena. "I guess… I guess I'm just—"

"Worried?"

Serena had been staring off into space, looking down past the guardrails of the walkway path and down at the ground—despite all the flash, exciting imagery around her. The sound of Ash's voice interrupting her thought made her snap out of it, her eyes darting up to meet his in the darkened queue. She searched his face, unfazed by the flashing lights of the attraction facade as it cast blue and red lights over Ash's expression.

"Yeah… Is it… Is it obvious?" asked Serena.

"Not really, just a lucky guess," Ash grinned, chuckling lightly.

Serena's brow furrowed even more than it had, her own sense of worry growing. As she had been for the last several moments, she replayed in her mind the morning that had led up to that very point...

* * *

 _"Please stand clear of the doors," announced a large intercom. "Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas."_

 _A large steel, leaf-shaped awning shielded the bright morning sun from the cool, open-air inside of the terminal. Wild Pidgey chirped in the eaves of the curved beams that supported the awning, their perched places, their shrill cries casting over the shaded space. Down below, Monorail Orange was laid out on its singular track in the center of the concrete terminal platform, with bright, glossy steel cars and dark blue windows. The sliding doors on the sides of the car had opened wide for the interior, seats already largely filled up._

 _"Serena, come on already!" Ash said, hands cupping his mouth to project, his voice traveling across the wide pavilion. He waved, standing at the edge of one of the doors—Pikachu had already hopped onto one of the gray benches inside of the Monorail car—looking on and waiting for Serena._

 _At the end of the queue, standing between two sets of steel posts, a ride operator in uniform holding the end of the steel chain was waiting, with one last passenger standing at the entrance of the terminal—Serena. She was waiting for someone, leaning against one of the posts with a hand and keeping the other behind her back, looking down the length of the the queue line to see if anyone was coming. More and more families were coming up to the elevated, standing queue to get to the Monorail, but none of them were who she was looking for._

 _"But Bonnie and Clemont aren't here yet—and mom! Where are they?" Serena said, her gaze still locked on the far end of the queue, waiting to see if their heads would pop up above the escalator._

 _Before she could hear an answer from Ash, she felt someone coming up close behind her. Her head turned just enough to see that it was Ash, and before she could say anything she felt him taking her by the arm and pulling her away. Her awkward legs stumbled beneath her as she caught up, watching as Ash pulled the her at full speed to the open door of the Monorail car—her eyes going wide as she watched the hydraulic doors slowly closing._

 _"They're going to catch up with us later, don't worry. C'mon!"_

* * *

A low-bodied droid with a long, craning neck looked down at his work, the name 'G2-9T' painted on the side of his binocular-shaped eyes. As one of his extended arms wielded a small, pistol-shaped welding tool, ready to weld the front panel on a powered-off R4 unit in front of him, his head craned up, looking at the audience of guests that stood on a balcony path over the maintenance platform he stood on. Two points of dim light—presumably his 'eyes'—focused and narrowed as they looked out at the crowd.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" G2-9T protested. "Yeah, you—lady! Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer!" he said, waving his welding tool, moments before shaking his head out of annoyance and returning back to the dead R4.

Serena hadn't been paying attention, even if G2-9T's protests were aimed at her. She was, however on G2-9T's unusual, rusted iron plates that made up his feet—they were shaped like webbed, cartoonish geese feet. As they took another few steps up the ramp towards the corner of the back area of the ride queue where the first switchback lay, Serena was still distracted by the sights and sounds of the Star Wars world that had been made. Her finger rested uncomfortably on the capture button of her camera, thinking about all the things that she needed to take pictures of in that moment.

So distracted, Serena had totally missed Ash's question.

"Why are you so worried, Serena?"

Several long blinks, a worried stare and a slightly hanging mouth later, Serena was reengaged in what Ash was saying and the moment between them. So focused, in fact, that when Ash nudged Serena forward she had no idea why—until she looked behind her and saw that the line had moved several steps up the ramp, closer to the opposite ramp at the end of the switchback.

"I'm… I'm not sure!" Serena stammered, exclaiming to Ash as she looked down in front of herself, watching her footsteps on the dimly lit metal plates, passing beneath the unusual red lights that were cast on the walls.

* * *

 _"...the main entrance to Disneyland—The Happiest Place on Earth! Since its opening in 1955, Disneyland has hosted hundreds of millions of guests from around the world, including presidents, kings and celebrities, as well as Walt Disney himself. We will soon be taking a scenic tour of the land of tomorrow, Tomorrowland! A place of wonder and imagination, capturing what many and Walt Disney himself envision for our world in the distant future. Please stay seated until..."_

 _The Monorail car took a sharp, barreling roll to the side, tipping half of the passenger side down as the top of the car dodged beneath large and perfectly manicured tree branches—the last show buildings and open passages of back-lot disappearing from sight in the greenery of the trees and bringing into view something new. A large rock formation rose above a cool, rippling lagoon, spotted with moss and wild grasses shooting up all around it. The deep blue waters rippled and alluded to their bright, pastel coral reefs beneath, water foaming up at key passages between rocks just as the bright yellow top of a Finding Nemo submarine gently glided up towards it and bathed itself in the foaming waters. Ahead of it, another submarine drifted towards the dark entrance of a cavern, turning itself to fit perfectly into the dark passage._

 _As the Monorail banked again and went up a steep curve, it crossed the Submarine lagoon and moved towards the tall tracks of Autopia, crossing the large and line-ridden queue of the ride that stood on a platform to look like a raceway stadium. Parents and children—some holding Pokemon in their laps, sped down the concrete paths and followed the metal rails in the roadways in bright, colorful cars. All of the Monorail cars were given a glimpse of the tracks that weaved through the jungled areas and the various faux roadway signs, as well as the several figures of Asimo robots that stood on the sides of the roads like they had wandered out of some other attraction._

 _Serena felt herself sliding off the smooth bench, her boot pressing to the sloped lower walls of the Monorail to keep herself from falling off. Her sudden, jolting movement caught Ash's attention by her side, and he grabbed her arm. When she looked up, somewhat flustered, Ash only smiled earnestly in response, and Serena relaxed—if only for a moment._

 _"When did you know that my mom wasn't coming? Did you plan it?" asked Serena. "And what about Clemont and Bonnie?"_

 _"I planned it," Ash grinned, his smile usually the thing to defuse any of Serena's worries being the very thing that intensified it—even if he hadn't noticed the worry and confusion Serena held in her eyes._

 _"Why?" Serena asked, the worry erupting in her tone, coming out much louder than she had expected. "Do you know how easy it is to get lost in a park like this? Don't you think she would worry?"_

 _"Well, I figured we could just go the two of us, right? At least just for the morning?"_

 _This made Serena tense up when she heard it, nearly forgetting her worries for a second. She stared blankly for several long moments, thinking to herself and listening to the gentle, futuristic hum of the Monorail as it made another turn down its tracks and flew over another area of the park._

 _"While we're en-route to our final destination, take a look over on your left and you'll see the Matterhorn—Disneyland's first mountain! Inside is a riveting steel bobsled rollercoaster that travels through its own caverns at high speeds, taking you on a hair-raising trip that may even take you past one of the mountain's terrifying residents!"_

 _"I guess it's not that much of a surprise," thought Ash. "Your mom did want to sleep in."_

* * *

They stood beneath a tall, vertical portrait of what was supposed to be a window into another room, only giving away dark silhouettes of what was happening on the other side. A bright light flashed and flickered, steadily giving away the details of the image on the other side—another G2 droid, low in posture and with a tall, craning goose neck that looked down over its handiwork as it stood on a stool, placed beside another droid. This one, with it's half-dome head and its bottle-shaped body with many arms sticking out in an array, remained static as the G2 droid welded something unseen to its body. To Serena, it looked like the droid on the poster in the entrance to the ride.

"Ever since I mentioned that Clemont and Bonnie weren't going to be with us for this portion of the day, you seem to be really… agitated," said Ash. "I honestly didn't think it would be that big of a deal. In fact, I kinda sort thought you might… like it?"

As they took another few steps up the ramp, they stood outside a caged area. Another goose-shaped G2 robot stood in the center, surrounded by dimly lit control panels—'G2-4T' was painted on the side of his binocular eyes. A large glass panel with an array of circuits on an orange screen flashed brightly and cast lights over him as he worked, seemingly more annoyed than his counterpart down in the droid area at the bottom of the room. A monitor in the corner showed the circuit schematics of an R2 unit (named 'Droidnostics'), as well as a readout of several different stats on the droid in various charts and maps. As he egged on guests who walked up the ramp and got closer to the brightly lit loading area of the ride, his short claw hand interfaced with different switches on the hidden panel.

Serena had become less distracted by the loud sounds and the music inside the ride. She was instead listening intently to Ash—more for what he was saying than the loudness of the queue.

"I mean… You keep mentioning it a lot around me. Sometimes when we talk about going places you ask if maybe you could go with me, like it would just be the two of us. And… well… you seem disappointed whenever we can't just go do something together. And, well, I though it meant something awfully important to you, so I saved this part of the day—I planned the whole thing out and everything, too—but it sounds like it was the wrong time…? I guess I just can't seem to figure it out sometimes."

When Serena looked over at Ash, looking back down the line where Ash was standing just behind her, Ash looked somewhat sad. Even if he was trying to still stay optimistic about everything, Serena could tell that his energy was visibly sapped from him, his eyes looking tired the more he thought about it. Serena kept her thoughts to herself as she stared out into space, trying to focus her thoughts to think of the right thing to say. Instinctively, her hands wandered towards the thin blue ribbon that had looped through and tied the collar of her blouse, resting in a neat bow, her fingertips lightly playing with the loose ends that hung down from the knot.

"I guess the best you can do sometimes is just enjoy the moments you have in the now, right?" asked Ash, smiling.

When he smiled, Serena knew it was genuine. It made her smile too, softly, despite her conflicted inner state.

"Excuse me, hey lady!" G2-4T said, waving a claw at Serena, pointing it at her. "You're gonna have to check that excess baggage, alright?"

Serena lost her train of thought at the sound of the droid's booming voice. As she looked up, seeing the warbling blue lights that stared back at her from the end of G2-4T's binocular eyes, she looked confused for a moment, looking to Ash for a moment before.

"Oh jeez, I'm sorry!" G2-4T continued. He then gestured to Ash. "I didn't realize _he_ was with you! Eheh, heh heh!"

* * *

The lights were on inside the Starspeeder 3000 as it prepared for another flight, the steel blast shield at the front of the vehicle closed and showing the Star Tours emblem on the front of it. The doors on either side of the vehicle were open, guests who had just finished the ride walking out over the steel catwalks that crossed the launch bay happily chatting about the experience as they entered the exit paths, and guests on the opposite end were being led in for their first ride and finding their places in the rows of orange seats. A cast member stood at the very front, watching and making sure everyone was finding their seatbelts as she stood beside a large open panel that had green lights to correspond with every seat in the vehicle.

Ash had found his seat in the middle of the fourth row, sitting himself down promptly and grabbing for his seatbelt. As he did, he gave a passing glance to the cast member at the front of the vehicle as he chatted with a guest who had got on the ride and was being asked to put away his Drowzee—the cast member citing that Pokemon were not allowed to ride Star Tours. Ash, who had set his bag down to slide into the cloth storage bin beneath his seat, looked down at where his hand was in the bag. Peeking out of the bag, Pikachu's beady black eyes gleamed out at him, cheeks crackling with excitement. As soon as the cast member stepped out, Ash set the bag on his lap and pointed Pikachu's face out at the blast door of the vehicle.

"Ash..."

Ash, somewhat jumpy already, whipped his head around to look up—but Serena was already sitting down beside him, placed in close proximity with the crammed-together seats. She had reached up and removed the pink fedora from her head and set it under her seat, in the small cloth compartment.

"What is it Serena—?" asked Ash, but he was then almost immediately cut off.

Leaning in, Serena planted a small kiss on Ash's cheek, narrowly missing the tufts of black hair that stuck out beneath his hat. It stunned him, surprised at the feeling of her soft lips on his cheek and the strange sensation that filled his chest in the immediate moment after. It made him short of breath, if only for a moment, and not just from surprise.

"Serena… What was that for?"

"It was an apology," Serena smiled gently, "and a thank you, because you were right."

"I was right…?"

"Yes, of course you were! It just took me a little longer—as usual—to see it..." Serena chuckled, somewhat to her own embarrassment. She brushed her hair, somewhat nervously, inadvertently revealing her ears as they reddened with embarrassment. "I… I think you're right," said Serena. "I need to get past what I thought today would be like and just, well, enjoy things for as great as they are, right now…"

Ash smiled, his familiar look of determination returning to him. "We'll see them today, I guarantee you that."

Serena smiled back at him. As she did, the lights dimmed all around them in the cabin of the Starspeeder. The doors shut with a gentle, muffled thud. Near the front of the ride, in the top right corner, a small display turned on and a small droid appeared—much like the one Serena had seen on the poster and in the vertical window in the queue—speaking to the guests inside the ride vehicle. Serena couldn't hear what he was saying, and neither could Ash—in the darkness of the ride, with only the glow of the small screen and the faux seatbelt/smoking sign above them, they continued to look at each other, seemingly unable to look away.

"Pii-ka!"

Pikachu, who had sensed that the cast member was gone, suddenly emerged from the backpack and sat himself up in Ash's lap. His tail sprung out, eyes bright at the sight of the ride beginning as the blast shield lowered and revealed the outside of the vehicle, unable to resist making little cries of excitement—like many of the Pokemon who had been stored away when the cast member was in the room and had just now reappaered.

A reinforced steel door in the hangar faced the vehicle, and as the door finished lowering it unveiled the pilot of the ship—RX-24, or 'Captain Rex', the half-dome headed and bottle-bodied droid from the poster and the window, the spider-like array of arms interfacing with a small control panel in front of him.

 _'Star Tours Forty-Five, elevator platform has been activated. Commence final pre-launch sequence.'_

"Roger control, all status go," said Rex, a few of his arms toggling switches on the controls in the wall beside him.

Serena felt the whole vehicle lurch as it lifted up from the ground, her attention turned to the screen in front of her as a series of running lights on the wall passed down front of them as they were raised to the main departure track. Another Starspeeder 3000 crossed a mere thirty feet down the track, turning to head down another tunnel marked 'Launch'. Instinctively, she reached over and found Ash's hand, resting on the arm-rest between their chairs. She then felt Ash's hand turn, reaching to grip her own hand and hold it tightly—just as, on-screen, the vehicle turned and moved away from the tunnel marked 'Launch', now heading down a tunnel marked 'Maintenance Bay – No Admittance'.

"Let's go on an adventure, together," said Serena, quickly, under her breath. "No expectation of where it takes us, together."

 _'ST-45, you are going the wrong way. Stop immediately. ST-45, please—"_

The sound of the maintenance doors being smashed open made Rex's head whirl around to the screen and then back to his controls, hearing the alarms outside the vehicle and coming from controls right by his side. "Uh oh, wrong way!" he said, his many arms wrestling with the controls in front of him. "Brakes, _brakes!_ " he shouted as an emergency sign flashed above the screen. " _Where are the brakes? Aaaahhh!_ "

The whole vehicle tipped over the edge and dropped into the vast hangar bay below. Serena gripped Ash's hand tighter, and Ash gripped back.


	3. Pirates of the Caribbean

"C'mon Serena, there's no line!"

Ash had disappeared down beneath the bridge that crossed over the empty outdoor queue, his head ducking down for just a moment to look back up, making sure that Serena was following. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Pikachu darted down to the right, running ahead like he hadn't stopped. As soon as he saw the first inklings of Serena's brown cowgirl boots stepping down where he could see them, seeing the swaying ends of her pink vest moving down, he then picked back up to follow, turning right and heading down between the stucco wall and a chain-link line divider.

Serena didn't follow. Instead, she took the small digital camera that had been clutched in her hand for the whole run from Adventureland over to New Orleans Square, giving herself a chance to stop and get the perfect picture of the scene in front of her.

The bridge that crossed over the overpass bowed in the middle, the wrought-iron facade overgrown with vines and green leaves, light flickering faintly in small iron lamps. Sunlight made the studded letters of the sign mounted to the very center of the facade glimmer—Pirates of the Caribbean.

"Serena, come _on!_ "

Serena's camera made a digital snapping noise, a small light blinking beside the viewfinder. Pulling back, Serena got a quick glimpse in the viewfinder of the picture she had taken—inadvertently bringing a smile to her face.

As she walked down the sloping brick path into the empty queue of the attraction, passing metal posts with chain-link hung up beside them, her eyes wandered over the stucco on the walls, all the ornate decorations that were supposedly period colonial Kalosian, she reached the fountain at the base of the wall. A sign had been posted by the side of the fountain, made to look like a pirate's scroll, giving the rules of the attraction. Serena's eyes narrowed on one specific part of it:

 _'Pirates of the Caribbean' is a Dark Ride Attraction. Pokemon are allowed to be passengers aboard the boat vehicles._

The line had caught Serena totally by surprise. She hadn't thought about Pokemon at all—aside from the brief memory of Pikachu sneaking out of Ash's bag to ride Star Tours—but the opportunity certainly crossed her mind now. As she stared at the sign with bright, blank, thoughtful eyes, she let the backpack on her slip down over her shoulders and slip into the grip of her hand, allowing her to bring it around in front of her and root through it. Through the pouch she had dedicated to her Pokeballs, she found exactly the one she had been looking for—one with a certain weight and feel to it that she knew instinctively.

Kneeling down to the ground beside the fountain, Serena took the Pokeball and set the bag beside the fountain to prop. She then pointed the white release of the Pokeball and pressed the trigger.

An electric rush of sound came from the front of the Pokeball as a red laser shot out and zapped into the image of a four-legged, all red creature, until moments later the intense build-up of light dissipated and left only the cat-sized figure of Sylveon. Bright, milky-blue eyes blinked and looked up to Serena with a gentle, cooing smile, an invisible breeze brushing and making the ribbons all around her waver silently.

Before Sylveon could turn her head and wonder where she was—as she had began to—Serena rested a hand on the side of Sylveon's face and turned her to face her, looking down at her closely.

"Ready for an adventure?" Serena beamed.

* * *

"Serena… Are you yawning?" asked Ash.

Serena gave Ash an unusual look. "Yeah…" she said, trailing off as she stated the obvious. "Why?"

The boat had completed its wide 180 degree tour around the large, outdoor patio of the Blue Bayou, and it crossed in front of a large wooden cabin set on the water. The twangy sound of a banjo lightly playing 'Camptown Races' was nearby, barely masking out the overwhelming sound of crickets. On the porch of the cabin, an older gentleman rocked back and forth slowly in his rocking chair, dressed in overalls and a straw hat, a tufty white beard clinging to his face as he held a pipe between his lips. The path ahead of the waterway became immensely dark, unseeable through the rest of the ride.

"It's just… Surprising. For right now, anyway. This is a pretty exciting ride."

"I know, but… there are parts that just put me to sleep… and—" Serena had to cut herself off, reaching to cover her own mouth as she felt another yawn coming on—one that made her ears pop, her eyes squeezed shut as her head felt unusually heavy. "—and we did get up at the earliest possible hour this morning… I'm starting to think my mom's probably smarter by sleeping in…"

The boat slowed to a stop, the water sloshing up underneath it and forcing everyone to rock back with it. The front of it knocked against a set of arms stopping it, arms that had been put at the mouth of… something, neither of them could see. They had slipped into a dark chamber, out of the seemingly serene scene of the swamp they had just passed through. The boat creaked as it sat in limbo, and at the front of it all four of Ash and Serena's Pokemon let out a cacophonous wail as they knocked around in their seats. Just a few feet in front of them, the immense sound of rushing water seemed to fill an endless black void in front of them.

A light came suddenly above them, lighting on the face of a brick facade and what lay upon it. It was a life-like human skull, set against a tattered red flag that had been hung on it, over the archway that opened up into a dark, pitch-black tunnel where the rushing water was. A black pirate's hat had been set on the head of the skull, a set of cavernous, empty eyes looking out at nothing in particular. A set of rusty, old swords crossed beneath it, gleaming—it was the Jolly Rodger.

 _"Ye come seeking adventure and salty ol' pirates, eh?"_ the Jolly Rodger growled, its bony jaw moving a set of mangled teeth. " _Sure, you've come to the proper place. But keep a weather eye open, mates, and hold on tight—with both hands, if you please. There be squalls ahead, and Davy Jones waiting for them what don't obey."_

The arms keeping the front of the boat from going any further suddenly released, and the boat drifted forward. The sound of rushing water became louder and louder as the boat traveled further into the void, the bobbing sensation of water disappearing.

 _"And mark well me words, mateys: 'Dead men tell no tales!'"_

The boat tipped, the nose of the boat reaching and bobbing over the edge when there wasn't any water beneath it. The boat then slid and gained momentum at a breakneck pace, dropping like a rock down the slick water way. The rushing sound had become drowned out by the rushing sound of the boat running down through the water at the speed of gravity. For a long stretch, the boat fell like it was falling forever, even past the point where it felt like it should have stopped.

In total darkness, Serena sank back in her seat like leaning might stop the momentum. She felt herself sliding, her hand grasping for her hat as to not let it hurtle away in the rush of cool air, her arm reaching out in front of her for the metal railing along the top of the bench in front of her. Her eyes were wide with terror as she couldn't see anything, her jaw locked into a terrified grimace. Though she could hear the sounds of her Pokemon and Ash's Pikachu all wailing in terror, a silent creeping terror sank into her stomach—the point where she felt the bottom was never came, and they kept dropping.

"A-Aaaahh—!" Serena wailed, her voice pitching to a shriek as the last vestiges of hope seemed to escape her. The boat was going too fast, plummeting down at a speed that would surely mean crashing. By her side, she could hear Ash's own shouts of terror—though his were filled with excitement.

Then it came—the boat slowed suddenly, reaching the loudest point of rushing water at the bottom, where the boat crested into it and slowed itself on the dark, sloshing surface. A thick splash of water erupted from the front of the boat as it slowed, spraying out where none of them could see and could only feel. Serena's stomach found the place it was supposed to be sitting in her chest as she got her breath, sitting herself up and relaxing herself. The hand she had on the railing in front of her gripped even tighter as she pulled herself up, then pulled away—instinctively drying the sweat she had worked up on her palms on the surface of her dress.

The sound of voices filled the dark, imperceivable cavern they were in—singing, merry voices. It was a band of men—pirates—singing 'yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate's life for me' at the tops of their lungs, coming from nowhere and echoing out of the dark chasm. As Serena looked out, her eyes adjusting in the darkness to the interior of the cave, the boat kept a steady pace and came fast around a corner, slowly revealing slices of ethereal blue light on dark crags of cave walls.

The feeling of Ash's hand on hers made Serena jump. She then looked over, seeing Ash's excited grin in the dim light of the cavern.

"That didn't scare you, did it?" Ash asked, laughing.

Looking down, Serena found Ash's hand and where it laid over the top of her own. Her fingers laced through his, finding the palm underneath against the sandpaper-y surface of the bench. Flipping it, she took his hand into her own, holding it tightly.

"Of course it did," said Serena. She could think of a million reasons why and go into each of them with detail. As she took a breath and stilled her excited heart—from the drop, not from the warmth of Ash's hand—she turned her gaze on Ash and gained a smirk, seeming to turn the heat on him, looking more pouty than anything. "In fact, I think you were looking forward to it."

"Just making sure you were awake—can't have you yawning on the second ride!" Ash laughed. "Hope you like another drop!"

Though Serena turned her head, she knew exactly what Ash meant before she could see it—the sound of rushing water was back, just as loud as it had when they were at the very edge of the first drop. When she looked down, she saw the darkly lit waterfall stretching down into more caverns. Her hand tensed where it held Ash's, and though she grabbed for the edge of the bench in front of her once again she found her hand instantly gravitating towards Ash's arm to hold it tight. Only a moment of embarrassment and fear passed through her, leaving immediately as soon as Ash's hand grabbed her arm back, intertwining them.

The boat, moving at less of the leisurely pace that it had through the swamp up above and at a much quicker gait, pushed itself over the edge with ease. At the front of the boat, Pancham was clutched in Braixen's arms as they together looked over the front of their boat, feeling themselves tip down again and slide down the slope into the cave. Sitting beside Sylveon, Pikachu reached over and covered her eyes with an arm, his other arm clutching her side as they raced down.

The boat crested the water as it had moments earlier, bobbing back up and wandering around the turn into a more brightly lit cavern. It had picked up even more speed from the drop, pushing itself down the waterway until it brushed against the raised metal rails that guided the boat, sending up a wave of water to the rocks ahead of it. Turning, the boat moved around to a scene unfolding.

When Serena opened her eyes, they weren't dropping. Instead, she had a prime, pressed view of Ash's navy-blue jacket, zipped closely to his torso. Her head was buried against his chest, an arm wrapped around him as the other held hands with him, pressed together in the core of them. Serena pulled away gently, then looking up to Ash and feeling the first inklings of a blush coming to her cheek as she realized she was going to have to face Ash. As she pulled herself up, her arm slipping from around where it held Ash's backside to allow herself to get up, she felt her jilted hat and where it had pressed against Ash's face, making her reach up and straighten it as she pulled herself up. When she looked at Ash, she saw that he held no judgment in his eyes—it wasn't the laughing, thrill-seeking Ash she had seen moments earlier, but instead someone who cared and showed it.

"Serena…"

"S-Sorry! I… I told you didn't like falling!" Serena squeaked, getting up.

Serena's arms pulled away to fit neatly back in their tucked position in-between her legs—or at least, they tried to. Serena felt Ash's grip on her hand, soft and reassuring. Though she looked back in total confusion, she then felt an arm slide around her backside and bring her in close.

"Geez Serena, you really _are_ cold all the time," said Ash.

Serena blinked. "W-What…?"

"Yeah! That's why you grabbed for me, right? You were cold! Eheh…" Ash chuckled. For a moment, it seemed like nervousness from him. "I mean, I knew you were cold a lot, but that was Kalos. It's pretty hot over here in the Antas region—it was hot out there before we got here, and it's not even as hot as it'll be today!"

Ash's arm slid back and left Serena's side—making her feel for a moment like the jig was up. Instead, Ash then reached for the front of his jacket, unzipping it and opening up to reveal the black t-shirt that was underneath it. The jacket fell off of his arms and into his lap, giving him the chance to hoist it by the corners and sprawl it out. Before Serena could put together in her head what was happening, Ash had scooted himself close to her and pressed his side to hers, then laying the open flaps of the jacket to rest over their collective bodies. A hand on Serena's shoulder helped ease her closer into the jacket, her body overlapping with Ash's, giving her the chance to lean against him—a motion that came more naturally than something she actively decided herself, her eyes wide at the prospect of what was happening coming to her before—and as—she realized it was happening.

"Hopefully this will warm you up," said Ash. "I mean, unless you're not that cold. I hope it doesn't make you too uncomfortable or anything."

At that point, Serena had a decision to make. Her natural inclination was to tell the truth that she wasn't really all that cold, but she had stopped herself just short of that. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to fib.

"Yeah..." Serena said, quietly. She raised her eyes, seeing where Ash's head was just above her, her body nestled in his, seeing that he was looking back down at her. "I… I think this will warm me up… You're very comfortable, Ash…"

As Serena's head just beneath Ash's, finding its place in the nook between Ash's head and his collar, she felt a wave of comfort washing over her. Ash had removed her hat, the brim of which had been prodding uncomfortably at his cheekbones until he had set it down by his feet in the bottom of the boat, her soft locks of golden hair pressed against his sun-baked skin. Beneath the sprawled-out, comfortably laid jacket, Serena's hand found Ash's again and held it over her stomach, keeping it close to the warmest part of the body.

They had passed the first scene of the skeleton in the abandoned cove, the boat curving around another craggy passage and drifting down the waterway at a slow, rocking pace. The boisterous 'yo-ho, yo-ho' had disappeared, instead replaced by the swaying notes of the same theme on strings that played through the caverns. Flashes of light echoed on walls as ominous hints of things to come soon. The inner spaces of the cavern were becoming more and more cramped as they traveled deeper in, jagged columns of stone and other stalactite structures coming increasingly close as they dripped with water off their salty surface. The harrowing phrase, 'dead men tell no tales', seemed to come from the dark unseeable portions of the cavern and resonated all around them in the salty air, looping in a trancing pattern.

As they passed into another, cramped room of the cavern, the flashing lights they had seen moments earlier came from a scene at the end of the dark passage. The mirage of a rainstorm played on the wall, streaks of rain beset by flashes of lightning to show the full deluge hammering down. The wreckage of a ship was raised on the banks of the muddy beach it had been abandoned in, seemingly trapped perpetually in the storm that had wrecked it and swamped by all of the goods that had once been on the ship. A lone skeleton stood behind the wheel on the raised deck of the ship, his arms seemingly turning the wheel as the wind swayed it.

Against the stormy background, a set of four silhouettes watched in awe at the display, all with their own unique sets of mammalian ears. Their heads craned, the boat rocking gently as Pikachu and Pancham all scrambled to the front 'deck' of their little boat and looked on at the next scene of the treasure room. As the lustrous light of gold and other riches poured in from the next cavern, lighting the path ahead and shedding light on the ancient, papery remains of old pirate skeletons, their enlightened faces came into focus. Sylveon was the only one not looking on at the scene, instead looking back at Serena with a knowing silent expression.

Serena couldn't help but smile back at Sylveon. Though she was enthralled by all that was happening outside the boat, she was deeply, deeply distracted. The warmth beneath the blanket of the jacket was intense, and it had spread to all of her extremities. Her legs had tucked up onto the bench—at the cost of bringing her closer to Ash's body—and her hand were closer, clutching the lone arm that Ash had lended her, while his other arm held her side.

Serena stifled a yawn, but she didn't feel the need to resist too much. The clutches of sleep had returned, and Ash's warmth was all too intoxicating. The idea of falling asleep in his arms was tantalizing to say the least. As another, looped recording of 'dead men tell no tales' played, Serena let her eyes shut, waiting for the next repeat of the ghostly words to come and wake her up.

Instead, Serena fell asleep.

* * *

"You're scared of pirates…" said Ash, his smile becoming cheeky.

Serena giggled, hardly believing that Ash was ready to make jokes after that—but, somehow, remembering that was part of his charm. As her brief giggling fit subsided, she realized that Ash wasn't laughing, and when she looked up into his eyes she saw that Ash still looked genuine and that his smile was really teasing, she looked indignant.

"W-What…? Are you serious…?" asked Serena, her eyes wide in the dim light of the flickering 'fire' that surrounded them.

"Serena, it's okay… If you didn't want to ride pirates you could have said something… and it's totally okay if you are! Being scared of creepy robot pirates is fine!"

"I'm… I-I'm not scared of pirates! I'm serious!" Serena protested, her voice raising in defiance.

"Jeez Serena, you don't have to be tough around me…"

Ash had looked away, laughing softly at Serena's seemingly ridiculous behavior—or at least to spot another splash in the water from a 'gunshot' from a pirate. As he did, he felt Serena's hand relinquish where it had gripped his hand and let it fall flat and rest on the rail in front of him. His gaze followed where Serena's hand went—or at least tried to keep up, until he felt the slender, soft touch of Serena's hand sliding around on his chest through the front of his dark shirt, rubbing gently over the small boyish features. When he looked up, he saw something he had never seen on Serena's face before—a look of seduction.

Serena had watched with gentle eyes, realizing what the problem was—words weren't getting through his thick skull. As she rubbed softly, her hands found his shoulders and rubbed the gentle expanse of sunburned skin between his neck and his shoulder, right where the collar of the black shirt on him had sagged.

"Do you want to know the real reason…? The real reason I… _stretched…_ the truth a little bit?" asked Serena, her fingertips dancing up the side of his neck, brushing away stray hairs that had fallen down and got between Serena's wandering hands and Ash's body.

Ash's eyes were wandering every which way but where Serena was right in front of him, instead looking to where her hand danced around his shoulder, then turning to look over and watch as another hand slid up the front of his chest and went around to his neck. Both of her arms were sliding behind his neck to wrap him up and envelop him in the warmth of her skinny embrace—and as finally looked in front of himself proved, bringing them closer. When Serena's forehead was pressed to Ash's, her arms wrapped behind his neck as far back as they could stretch, they both locked eyes.

"S-Sure…?" asked Ash, truly and knowingly unsure for the first time of what had gotten into Serena—something that made Serena's smile far more wicked and dangerous.

Serena pulled herself close and pressed their lips together, pulling Ash back with her. Ash never resisted, instead putting arms out to brace himself from falling before they naturally found their way around her body. The back of the bench thudded as Ash came into it, his kissing suddenly becoming more aggressive—something that Serena didn't pull back from and became more aggressive with as well.

* * *

The boat shimmied back and forth gently as the track beneath the boat pulled it up, the underside of it dragging audibly as it traveled up the dry ramp. The dark stone walls of the ride and the pirate domain within slowly became brighter and brighter as they came closer up to the queue, re-entering the real world. In moments, light from the outside world was coming through in bright rays, the windows showing the outside world appearing just above the tops of many people's heads in a line that had piled up outside of the interior queue.

The lifting boat jostled Ash and Serena gently. As Ash held himself to the guardrail in front of himself, he kept an arm around Serena, who had snuggled into his chest. Just before the boat gently tipped down and landed smoothly on the waterway, Ash felt Serena adjusting and coming to nudge him—Ash guessing what she was up to until he felt a soft pair of lips kissing the underside of his chin, gently brushing it as she patted his chest. In moments, Serena was up and sitting beside him, watching the scenery pass them as the first few guests came into view and they left the ride.

They glided down around the curved waterway smoothly, circling a small dirt island of palm trees, treasure, and the Barker Chatot. The bright, daylight area they passed through soon became dark again as they entered the loading dock. Ahead of them, boats had loaded normally, loaded to full capacity as they drifted through the swamp and headed towards the first drop at a leisurely pace. The Blue Bayou was completely full, accommodating a lunch-time crowd. Though Ash let his eyes wander through all of this, he eventually looked back to see Serena looking back at him, her cheeks as flushed as the hat she wore, unable to separate from the moment down in the burning room.

The boat rolled to a halt on the dock, roughly stopping itself on the dry wheels beneath it until it perfectly aligned with the row of gates on either side.

A cast member dressed in pirate gear stepped to the edge from the operating post, looking down at the two of them. "Al-right, thank you for your patience, hope you enjoyed, sorry for the delay—exit on your right!"

Though Serena looked up to the cast member—seeing the crowds of people waiting in the line that ended just at the edge of the dock—she then looked back down at Ash, smiling with a gentle giddiness. She reached for the sides of the benches around her, ready to hoist herself up, but she hesitated each time she really readied herself to get out of the boat. Even if they were in front of so many people, Serena seemed ready for another kiss—almost as enthralled with just the prospect of being able to kiss him than the act of kissing him itself.

At the edge of the dock, the portly cast member leaned himself against the side of the console that controlled the 'launch' mechanisms of the dock, less than amused by the display of quiet affection in the boat. He only had to glance at the line that had stacked up behind the front of the boat launch, leading out the door, as well as the line of empty boats that had stacked up behind Ash and Serena's boat, to reaffirm his decision.

"Al-right, please exit the boat now. Thank you for riding Pirates of the—yep. Please, gather your things and—"

"Yeah! Come on you weirdos, are you going just to hang around in that boat all day?"

Serena's head whipped around instantly, like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on it, looking over through the wooden gates to see where the all too familiar voice had come from. She raised herself just enough to look over the surface of the dock platform to see, her eyes wide with terror to see Bonnie standing just ahead of her.

Bonnie was standing up against one of the wooden fence rails, leaning against it, clutching her Dedenne in her arms. In the shade of a tall, artificial palm tree that rose from the planter behind the fence, Bonnie's appearance was obscured, but it was obvious that something was different about her. Her hair had been done especially nicely, smoothed and primmed to princess-level perfection, her cheeks glistening with a bright red makeup blush that sparkled in the dim light. A red bow crossed her hair above the braided stripe, perfectly placed. Behind her head, a white collar raised above a pair of puffy blue shoulders, and beneath the blue material that came over her tummy was a yellow dress down to her ankles—Serena even spotting a pair of dressy flats on her feet for a change. She was dressed like Snow White, Dedenne, clutched in her arms, was dressed like one of the peasant mice from Cinderella with an old shirt and a pointed hat.

All of the Pokemon that had been on them with the boat were beside Bonnie—Serena's Braixen, her Pancham and Sylveon, as well as Ash's Pikachu. Standing just a few feet down from Bonnie, Clemont was there too, using the light from the Blue Bayou just over his shoulder to catch on the map in front of him as he squinted at it. Crossing the dark straps over his shoulder of his backpack and on several different lanyards that hung down from his neck, Clemont was bristling with silvery Disney pins of various eras, many of them rare and highly collectible.

It was as though Serena's worst nightmare had come true. Her blushing face was a dozen shades darker than it had been earlier, looking a dark unhealthy red against her white eyes, steam practically wafting off of her forehead.

"Al-right, I'm going to ask you one last time—"

"What on earth are you waiting for? We need to go get on some more rides before things get crazy out there!" Bonnie protested, hopping up and down on the stone path very, very impatiently.

Serena quickly hopped up like nothing had happened, reaching up to grab the wooden guardrails of the gates and steady herself, standing on the bench she had sat on moments earlier. The boat hardly bobbed as she pushed herself off and levied herself up onto the stone dock, of the other side, quickly hopping through and across into the clearing of the path, just in front of Bonnie and Clemont. Even if they hadn't said anything or looked suspicious, Serena was on edge, worried that they might see through her and realize that something much more intimate had happened down in the passageways of the ride.

"Serena, were you all scared being trapped down there?" asked Bonnie, her eyes narrowing and becoming teasing, a slight snicker coming out. "I hope Ash protected you from all those pirates…"


	4. Jack Sparrow

On the banks of the river across from them, a set of frozen, life-sized Deerling figures stood in various places amongst the wild grasses—some hunting for food, others looking out across the river at guests who too looked back, others lying in the grass and napping in whatever weather was out at the moment. Their animation cycles hadn't been played in years, the pink coat of fur on the upper-half of its body seemingly newer than all of the fur that covered it—applied to cover for a color-changing effect that hadn't worked in years. Further along the banks, a set of war canoes were parked by rope on the outskirts of an encampment, supposedly made by a native population that was no longer there. Further down, the large wheel of the Mark Twain Riverboat churned water behind it as it steamed and pushed further down the length of Tom Sawyer Island, preparing to make the turn at the very end of the river to come back around towards Frontierland on the other side.

The deck of the Hungry Bear restaurant was elevated, raised high above the banks of the river on the Critter Country side of Rivers of America. For a restaurant in the very crowded dead-end of the park it was relatively sparse, with plenty of tables open and little to no immediate conversation around it. Even the counter service crew had time to chat between cleaning their various wares inside for another round of orders.

Near the edge but still beneath the shade of the overhanging roof, Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie sat around all four edges of a table, baskets of food in front of them. Their conversation had been cut short by their own hunger as they ate, hungrily recovering calories from what had already been a long day of walking—and a day that was far from over.

Serena sat at her side of the table over a salad, her posture straight and reserved. The fork that hung out of her hand leafed through the spinach in her salad, shifting around the contents of her bowl idly as she thought. Though there was plenty going on in the space—fiddle music playing from the eaves of the wooden roof, people chatting outside of the park, the brilliant red side of the Sailing Ship Columbia passing down the river in front of them, Serena was completely distracted.

"And then we did Winnie the Pooh again! _Again!_ And it was still just as good as the first time around!" Bonnie beamed, wielding a chicken nugget in her hand as the end of it dripped with honey mustard, then triumphantly slipping into her mouth and chewing happily. At the end of the table, the corner by Bonnie and by the wooden trestle between them and the Rivers of America, Dedenne sat over an empty bowl of mac and cheese, contently cuddled beside the large Pooh plush that sat beside him.

"It's still the same—even the third time," Clemont laughed nervously. "I guess there's only so many rides in Critter Country you can do that don't have height requirements… and aren't meet-and-greet characters with lines— _lines.._." His last thought trailed off with his gaze as he looked like the veteran of some colorful, Tigger-themed war he had spent far too much time in. A chill visibly passed through him.

Down beside Serena's chair, Serena looked down at where all three of her Pokemon feasted out of bowls that had been laid out on the wooden deck. Sylveon, Braixen and Pancham each had a bowl filled with colorful Pokemon kibble—and their own Country Bear character emblazoned on the rim of the bowl. Serena watched idly, still somewhat distracted, looking to the salad bowl in front of her before taking a chunk of grilled chicken out of her bowl by a fork, offering it down to Pancham—who had already finished his meal.

"Don't worry Clemont, your hard work is done—I just get to bother _Serena_ now," Bonnie giggled. "I've been saving the best for her."

Hearing her own name at the table, Serena looked up and saw Bonnie looking at her—and seeing that everyone else, Clemont and Ash included, was looking at her too, ready for some response. Serena looked very, very confused for several long seconds, before she finally had the thought to ask.

"The best for me…? What are you talking about?" asked Serena.

"Serena, I've been waiting to do Fantasyland with you! Clemont and I have been doing the _boring_ side of Disneyland waiting for you two to get over here and take me on some _real_ rides. It's time for us to pair up so that way Clemont and Ash can get all of the thrill rides done."

"Don't worry, even if the lines are pretty crazy for all of the major thrill rides, the experience is far better—doing all of the big rides in the morning isn't any fun at all! Ash and I will be just fine," said Clemont, reassuringly, as if that was the real worry filling Serena's face at that very moment.

"You and Ash…"

Across from Serena, at the table, Ash sat in front of an empty food basket—the remains of a cheeseburger he had desecrated. Half of the paper was torn out, the sweet potato fries sitting on the makeshift basket of the strip of paper beside Pikachu's complimentary kibble bowl. He was smiling gently, but he looked a bit hesitant—something Serena recognized in herself. They both knew exactly what the problem was for the two of them.

"Annnnd..." Bonnie said, unable to contain a wide, Cheshire-style grin at the thought, sitting up in her chair as she looked beside her at Serena. "Then we get to meet… _Snow White!_ "

"Snow White…" Serena trailed off, her gaze fading.

* * *

A low building near the corner of Critter Country and New Orleans Square, themed after Br'er Rabbit and filled with Winnie the Pooh merchandise, was just at the front of the tall and many-layered facade of Splash Mountain—named Briar Patch. In front of it stood a pin trader, one that Clemont was hurriedly talking with, Bonnie impatiently waiting by his side as they negotiated for only the rarest pins.

At the edge of the Rivers of America, Ash leaned against the railing and looked out at the scenery, squinting. Down by his side, Pikachu leaned against the railing, watching as a raft full of guests slowly drifted in towards the dock beside them to reattach and put them all back on solid land.

Just behind them, the sound of running boots was coming close across the paved paths, making Ash turn and look back. When he did, he saw Serena coming close.

"Ash…" Serena started, her steps hesitating for a moment as soon as Ash's gaze was on her, bringing her to a slow walk. At her sides, her hands were held uncomfortably out in the air, her fingers cringing like it might get her out of that moment somehow. Still, her eyes moving up slowly as her lips fidgeted against one another, she pressed on, refusing to let that moment go when it was right in front of her. "Ash, we need to talk…"

Ash chuckled. "Heh, yeah… I figured we probably should…"

Serena brought herself to the edge beside Ash, holding the rails with both hands as she looked over. Feeling the soft wind coming from the river cooling her face, her eyes squinting through it, she calmed herself and took a breath, looking up. When she looked over to Ash, seeing he was by her side, she continued to look out at the island across from them, keeping herself still.

"I… We can talk about what happened down in Pirates some other time…" said Serena, counting her thoughts in her mind as she stared out.

Ash looked skeptical, leaning himself in on the railing to look back at Serena. "Really? What else is there to talk about?"

"Well… I guess I had been scared to make a move or… or do anything really…" Serena said, continuing to look down at the river. "I didn't know what it'd do to our friendship… And, well, here we are…"

Though Ash had been looking up at Serena intently as he leaned against the rail, he then looked away for a moment to think about it. It took him several long seconds to contemplate what he thought about—even looking down to see Pikachu behind his leg, eating out some cupcake he had been gifted by a cast member. Taking a deep snort of breath, he looked up to see Serena, and that she was in thought herself.

"I… I know we're going to do different things all day," said Serena, "but I can't… I just…" She struggled with the words, unable to place them the way she was supposed to.

"Did you not like it…? Do you regret it…?"

Serena blinked—Ash's voice bringing her out of her thoughts and back down to Earth. Looking at him brought her comfort, setting her thoughts at peace, making them right in her head. She couldn't help a gentle smile.

"No, of course not… It's… It's one of the most natural things I've felt in my life… Even if it was rather scary…" said Serena.

"I agree—for me, anyway," grinned Ash.

Laughing softly under her breath, Serena stepped back from the railing, lightly turning herself away from the River's of America. Though Ash leaned against the railing on his side, Serena turned herself and looked back towards the Disneyland scenery before them—the haphazard heights of Splash Mountain just before her, and the rooftops of the aging Haunted Mansion poking above treetops. She looked down at the toes of her boots, holding herself to the rail behind her, an impressed grin on her face.

"I can't go another day without knowing what today—without knowing what _us_ means… you know? I… I've lived too long not knowing what _us_ meant or could mean…"

Down by her side, Serena could feel Ash's hand coming over hers and grasping at it softly. He took it into his hand, then clasped his hand over the top of it. When Serena looked back, Ash's eyes were waiting for her, looking as determined as ever.

"Well, maybe it'll come naturally, just like today," Ash brightened. "We can only hope, right?"

Ash seemed to be leading her, and though Serena leaned in with him without even realizing what was happening, she soon realized—another kiss. Ash's head was reaching, and he had put his free hand on her hip to turn her around a bit. Her free hand found Ash shoulder, touching down gently and holding for support as she shut her eyes, leaned in, and—

Then, the silvery surface of a sword slashed between them and stayed out between them, inches between their respective lips.

Though it had made them jump at first, breaking them out of their intimate postures, they remained completely frozen. Serena and Ash snapped back to reality, looking at their own reflection in the blade out of terror, looking back up at each other, then looking down the length of the blade to see where it had come from.

"Mind if I _cut_ in there, lads and lasses? Eheh heh..."

Wielding the prop sword, at the end of an outstretched arm, Captain Jack Sparrow was standing before them—or at least, a character playing him. With a tall, triple-pointed black hat stacked on top of the character's head, the long dark captain's coat that adorned the body, this character seemed a bit shorter than one might imagine the lanky male figure to be. In fact, the familiar dreadlocks did not slip out beneath the red bandanna that covered the head beneath the black cap—instead, lengths of greasy, unkempt and straight black hair hung down.

Serena had been fixated on something she had heard—something that she couldn't quite pin down—but she then became engrossed in the character Jack Sparrow's eyes. A pair of red, gleaming eyes stared back at her, bright with color and unusually vivid.

"Perhaps," the character Jack Sparrow interjected, gently lowering the sword, "I don't suppose that I caught you two on the verge of _snogging,_ might I?"

Though the audience that had gathered around the Jack Sparrow snickered, Serena wasn't paying attention to that. In fact, she had pinpointed exactly what she had noticed earlier in that character's voice that was so strange.

"A girl Jack Sparrow…?" Serena asked, looking deeply confused.

A high pitched, girlish squeal escaped the young lady who played Jack Sparrow, her grin almost completely giving it away. She then straightened her face out before leaning in to taunt Serena, narrowing her makeup-darkened eyes, seemingly snarling with indignance.

"That's _missus_ Captain Jack Sparrow to you, my dear—!"

As the Jack Sparrow took a step back, leaning away from Serena, she twirled her sword in a hand and walked with the same swagger the 'real' Jack Sparrow had. Her boots stepped one-foot in front of the other with a drunken unsteadiness, her arms out and up in the air in wide, theatric gestures as she twirled around and cackled to the audience.

Though Ash had mostly stayed out of it, watching the antics of the character with a lot of confusion, Pikachu leaped out from beside Ash's legs and landed down on the paved path ahead. It was just Jack Sparrow and Ash's Pikachu out in the clearing, the open space around where the audience had gathered. His cheeks crackled as he growled low—not necessarily ready for the playful kind of battles Ash and Pikachu usually had, but instead sensing a real danger. There was something off about this woman playing Jack Sparrow, and it very much unsettled Pikachu.

"Ahh~…" female Jack Sparrow grinned, seeing Pikachu out in the open, ready to strike. She then hopped down in front of him, squatting and grinning ear to ear. "Why hello there, little mongrel! It seems you and I have a bit of— _Aaahhh!_ " she shrieked, jumping back comically when Pikachu let a small bolt of electricity loose at her. She leaped up into the air, her limps sprawled out in-air before she came down and landed on two feet, hopping with exaggerated movements to get the biggest laugh out of the audience.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out, hurrying out towards Pikachu's side to stop him from doing anything more. He hunched down, looking him over as Pikachu continued to bristle with energy and get ready for a second, more powerful attack. "What's gotten into you, buddy…?"

"It seems to me your Pikachu wants a battle—a good old fashioned _duel_."

Ash looked up at the sound of Jack Sparrow's voice, seeing her standing there over him and waiting for him to respond. As she did, she took the sword that was in her hand and then chucked it down into the ground—the blade of the sword stabbing into the porous material of parts of the walkway and standing upright, proving the sword to be sharper than the average prop. She let the long captain's jacket slip down over her arms and then be hoisted up to be propped on the handle of the sword. As she removed the triple-pointed hat from her head, a Pokeball was resting at the very top of her head on top of the red bandanna, receiving much audience applause for the reveal. Taking the Pokeball into her hand, straightening the puffy white sleeves of her undershirt out and taking the hat and resting it on top of the upright-standing sword, she paced around towards Ash and waited for him to get to his feet.

Serena looked on with horror—not that the fight was beginning, but that they had been interrupted so horrifically and publicly, and now Ash was in 100% battle mode. She looked constantly between the two them with total confusion painted all across her face, unsure whether to jump in or to hang back.

Once Ash was on his feet, he paced carefully, watching the Jack Sparrow with only the most careful of gazes. His hands had balled up into fists by his side. Pikachu was just in front of him, on all fours, back raised high, ears down and back.

"If it's a battle you want, then it's a battle you'll get!" Ash cried, pumping a fist and taking his stance behind Pikachu—to audience applause, again.

"I'm glad! After all, it's not every day that a captain of my stature gets to meet a trainer of yours… Your caliber, anyhow… Ehehehee!" Jack Sparrow trailed off, her grin becoming wicked and stretching the fake mustache attached to her upper lip.

Both Ash and Serena gasped, looking at each other in an instant.

"What, do you think _I_ wouldn't know who you are, Ash Ketchum? Or you, Serena?" Jack Sparrow cackled. "It's obvious! Only the most honorable trainers in the whole Kalos region! I've read all about your exploits, and I cannot resist a battle."

"Ash..." Serena said, her voice quiet and quick—just enough to reach him from where he stood in the cleared path and where she stood by the railing over the Rivers of America. "I think this isn't a joke. I think something odd is happening here."

Though Ash had looked down from Serena to think about it for a moment, he then looked up and over to where Jack Sparrow was for only a moment as he watched her lob her Pokeball up into the air. As the cheers from the surrounding crowd grew and the Pokeball flew high, the tumbling surface paused long enough for the aperture to point to the ground and fire its laser—a bright surge of blue energy cutting through the air and landing all around where Jack Sparrow stood, the large amorphic form of a Pokemon taking shape before solidifying and the energy evaporating. In moments, the gigantic visage of a Salamence had landed down on the ground—its weight cracking the surface of the path and sending shockwaves all around through the guests themselves. The cheers of a crowd that had quickly gathered were nothing as Salamence roared a bellowing roar from deep within his cavernous, treasure-guarding chest.

"Salamence," Jack Sparrow commanded, throwing an arm flamboyantly into the air like she had told a cannon to fire, " _Hyper Beam!_ "

The large jaws of Jack Sparrow's Salamence opened wide, his meaty jaws bristling with teeth. A shrill, reptilian cry exited the long craning neck as a large summoning of energy took place. Poised between the open jaws and array of teeth, a large ball of pure white energy was pooling, suspended in-air, millions of particles swarming to it as it continued to charge.

"Alright Pikachu, we don't have much time—use Thunder Shock!" Ash shouted, feeling a rush of wind from behind him as Salamence collected more energy. The river behind them had begun to rock, even some distant trees on Tom Sawyer Island swaying in the air as more and more energy was being summoned. Period lampposts outside the Haunted Mansion flickered gently as their light faded—the energy drained, just as it was on the electric lights of the Mark Twain Riverboat on the river behind it.

Pikachu launched himself backwards, his foot skidding beneath him as he fought the force of his own momentum, one of his arms in front of him reaching to grasp at the path and coil like a spring to launch himself forward. The fur on his body suddenly stood on edge all at once, wavering only once before standing totally rigid—the red cheeks on his face overflowing with loose electrical currents. He then volleyed his whole body forward in several leaps, reaching the middle of the clearing in mere seconds before leaping up high in the air towards Salamence. Pikachu only flipped a few times in-air before righting himself with his tail and facing Salamence—who had raised his tremendously large body up on his hindlegs and craned his neck up and away, his whole body arcing away from Pikachu, barely able to keep himself up with his large red wings flapping.

With his whole body becoming a bright yellow spot of electrical energy in the air, Pikachu unleashed his Thunder Shock on Salamence. The flux of electricity focused several hundred bolts of lightning down into a beam, pointed at the apex of where Salamence's long neck met his stout body, then almost immediately spreading across the rest of his torso and up his neck. The force of the blast knocked Pikachu back through the air, sending him tumbling back and flying towards the edge of the path he had gotten his running start at, barely able to reach out with his front arms and grab the edge of the iron railing to stop himself from falling into the river.

Salamence shrieked with pain, stumbling back over his hindlegs when his large flapping wings seized up. His hindquarters smashed into the stone surface of the wall that braced the upper lawn of the Haunted Mansion, forcing it to collapse in on itself. As he slumped forward, trying to regain control over his fall, his craning neck swung his head clumsily—the ball of energy charging from Hyper Beam still clutched in his mouth and ready to burst. As his head moved around with abandon, dozens of shrieking guests on the path scrambled to run from where the Hyper Beam was pointed, moments before the column of pure energy blasted out and struck the ground. Chunks of the path exploded out at once, with more and more of the path being blasted away as Salamence swung his head over—a wincing, tiny eye of his trying focus through his daze to find where Pikachu was.

Pikachu had barely gotten himself back onto the railing, standing on two feet and balancing his pudgy body. It wasn't a moment later when he felt the railing suddenly buckle, knocking him off of his feet and forcibly landing him on his stomach—painfully. Holding himself with an arm and a hindleg, Pikachu looked down into the water—the Rivers of America—and watched as debris from the path crumbled into it, just as he could have. In front of him, looking down the length of rail, he could see that it had bent out and was now twisted and mangled, wobbling under the duress of the gentle wind.

"Pikachu! Get out of there, quickly!" Ash shouted. He had kneeled down behind one of the large gashes that had formed in the path, his arm the only thing that shielded him from the possibility of several hundred pounds of concrete falling on him. As he got up, he looked up and watched as Salamence continued to unleash more of his Hyper Beam, powerfully moving his head towards the length of railing that Pikachu was standing on.

Pikachu only had so much time to react, and as he did he chose to run down the length of the iron railing, trying to hang on as he suddenly felt it swaying out and bending out from where it was originally fastened. He barely held on as he felt the whole thing suddenly buckle, looking down to see he was already over the edge of the water—possibly several dozen feet above it—and the whole thing was beginning to drop.

Panicking, Ash ran towards Pikachu as he saw him nearly drop once again. He ran towards the edge, only to forcibly drop himself to the ground, stumbling hard and tucking in, rolling across the paved path on the ground. He skidded on his side to a halt, covering himself as rubble was tossed all around him on the ground. The Hyper Beam attack had fired down, suddenly growing in intensity as it blasted the fence ahead of them and made the section sever completely, sending it tossing through the air with Pikachu on it.

Exhausted, the Hyper Beam suddenly ceased. Salamence took a breath, landing himself back on all fours with an huge, thundering impact. Down beside him, the character Jack Sparrow laughed heartily, cackling at Pikachu's misfortune.

As Ash quickly pulled himself up, he stumbled to the edge on tired legs, clutching the crumbled stone stump on one of the sections of railing. As he hoisted himself up and looked down, looking at the wreckage that drifted in the Rivers of America, he searched for where Pikachu had landed. He saw him almost immediately, gasping with shock, an excited smile coming to his face when he realized he was okay.

Down below, one of the rafts that took guests to Tom Sawyer Island was floating among the wreckage, and Pikachu had landed squarely in it. Dazed, fur covered in chunks of stone and concrete, Pikachu was already shaking off the debris and getting up to fight once again. Nearby, splashing in the waters, the ride operator has fallen into the water—jumping from his stationed post on the outside of the raft when the sidewall that banked the upper areas of the park exploded out and Pikachu had landed down on it.

A deep, rumbling sound of annoyance exited the cavernous belly of Salamence as he readied himself. His wings unfurled, flexing once as he reared his body up, taking a stronger stance and looking on Ash with deep, angry eyes. He then launched himself up, wings thundering with powerful flaps as he lifted himself into the air and dragged his large body with him. His long tail dragged, barely pulling itself up, but readying itself to swing hard.

"Ahaha—Ash Ketchum! We are far from started~… I hope you are in for the ride of your life!" Jack Sparrow laughed again, dancing a small jig of excitement as Salamence brought himself up.

Looking on at Salamence as he gained height, Ash's eyes widened with terror when he saw that Salamence was looking at him rather than Pikachu—thinking Ash to be alone. As Salamence's body then turned, wings leveling and sending him down towards Ash in a preying formation, ready to swoop in and strike, Ash then bolted, running towards the edge of the destroyed path. The ground was quickly running out beneath him, and as he ran around the edge of the gash—feeling the intense rushing of air behind him as Salamence came closer and closer, the loudness of the Pokemon's cries blaring in his ear—Ash then leaped up over the edge, tucking his legs in to clear any loose posts of metal bars, tumbling through the air in a narrow trajectory down towards the raft below. He shouted, howling with terror as he fell, tucking his side in as he braced for impact—and then collided with the wooden deck of the raft, a stinging impact that rattled his whole body.

Salamence swooped and sailed high above the path, swooping up to hover at the edge of Rivers of America. As he did, looking down on Ash and Pikachu in the raft, he opened his immense jaw again and gathered fire—his belly glowing as he charged himself with a fiery impact to strike down with. As he fired down—Ash barely pulling himself up and Pikachu running to the edge of the raft—his streaming fireball would have hit if Pikachu didn't let loose a small Thunder Shock attack into the water, causing an eruption to shove the boat back over the surface of the water a short distance, giving the fireball a chance to explode on the water's surface. As Salamence roared, swaying to the side as he hovered on his wings, Pikachu dashed back across the deck of the raft, leaping up onto the railing to fire a thunderbolt at him.

The crowd cheered and applauded at the show before them, but not everyone there was ecstatic.

Serena stood at the edge of the path where there still was railing, looking down timidly at where Ash had jumped off to land on the raft. The thick gusts of wind knocked her hair into her eyes, but she didn't flinch as she stared, feeling a chilling loneliness welling up inside herself. She took a terrified breath, reaching up to clutch the blue ribbon around her collar—her eyes glowing with red flame when she looked up to see another burst of fireballs bellowing out of Salamence from above, much to rave applause.

Then, to Serena's shock, someone grabbed her by the arm, forcibly turning her. When she was forced to look back, she locked eyes with Jack Sparrow, looking up into the unusually bright red eyes the lady looked back with. For a moment Serena looked genuinely terrified, but it faded into annoyance—it was all a show, and Serena didn't like it at all.

"Sorry to steal your boyfriend away from you, I know it throws a bit of a _wrench_ in today's plans, eheh~…"

Serena wrinkled her nose. She yanked her arm out of the grip of Jack Sparrow, turning herself indignantly. Her head lowered, but she still looked out of the corner of her eye towards her, looking as annoyed as she really was conflicted.

"He's… He's not my boyfriend…"

"Oh, really? Well, you look awfully cute together… Anyhoo, I did manage to scrounge up several Fastpasses for you and Bonnie. Ride all the rides you want, as many as you want… Hope you like Fantasyland…"

At that, Serena looked up, very, very terrified. When she looked into Jack Sparrow's eyes, she saw something rather knowing about her gaze, and that rattled Serena to the core. As she looked up at her, mouth hanging more ajar than she thought it was, she suddenly felt a wad of Fastpasses get stuffed into her hand, and then her fingers closed over it by Jack Sparrow's forceful encouragement.

"Tally ho!"

With that, Jack Sparrow bounded off across—half skipping, much to Serena's terror, watching as Jack Sparrow then broke into a sprint, meeting the ground after a leap and skidding until she leaped again up onto the smashed-in retaining wall of the Haunted Mansion lawn. She grabbed the edge of an asunder, iron fence and hoisted herself, standing on the lawn moments before Salamence landed down hard with a tremendous impact, giving her the chance to leap up.

Serena watched in absolute silence. She wasn't even watching Jack Sparrow's wild actions, staring past her and seemingly looking introspectively amongst the show taking place. Instead, Serena took to looking down at the dozen or so tickets that had the printed label 'Fastpass' on them, contemplating. As Jack Sparrow had promised, they were all for various attractions in Fantasyland, and several times over.

Someone new grabbed for Serena's arm, but this time Serena didn't flinch. She instead looked up, watching as Bonnie tugged at her arm. The sudden force from such a small body made her stumble forward a few steps, Bonnie dragging her across the open path towards the rest of New Orleans Square.

"Come on already… You're starting to drool over him…" Bonnie groaned, steadily walking in the direction she and Arceus had seemingly picked out for them.


	5. Dumbo the Flying Elephant

A narrow passageway weaved between buildings, the entrance obscured by the underside of a low-growing tree. In the shade, artificial torches on walls flickered silently and cast warm light on the dim walls. The path cut between a place that served exotic foods and the rest of Frontierland, and as the path went deeper between the buildings the western-themed music from the dusty roads outside of the passageway faded, slowly being replaced by something enchanted.

Though Serena was glad to be out of the direct sun—protected by the large hedges that had walled off the restaurant from the passage—she was still trying to play catch-up. Ahead of her, Bonnie was passing out from underneath another covered section of the passage and making it to the landing with the well, bright sunlight washing over her. Somehow, Dedenne was racing ahead, and Bonnie was trying to catch up—trying to beat him to Fantasyland. Bonnie's mad, cackling laughter and Dedenne's shrieks of joy were getting more and more distant as Serena felt herself slowing down. The cool shade was far too enticing, feeling wonderful on her skin. Serena longed to get her boots off, or at least sit down for a little longer, feeling sweat bead up above her brow.

As Serena passed beneath another sunbeam that cut through the partially opened roof, putting herself beneath the shade of a larger, covered structure with a perfect hallway—and Tangled-themed mural inside—Serena stopped herself to look back. Her exhausted state took less precedence as she looked back. The crowded paths of Frontierland filled the bright, glowing portal of sunlight at the end of the path she had just come in from, but Serena was looking beyond that towards New Orleans Square. She couldn't see anything, but she knew Ash and Clemont were still there.

And the Jack Sparrow.

Something deeply unsettled Serena about the thought of it all. She didn't really know where Ash was, or if he was in danger—which she suspected he was. The longer she stayed stopped, standing in the passage, looking back towards were Tom Sawyer Island supposedly was, the more she felt helpless. The lengths of the shimmering, blue ribbon tied around her collar wandered between her fingers as she reached for them, feeling them out of comfort.

"Serena, come on!" Bonnie called. Serena's head whipped around, looking back towards where Bonnie was on the bright, other side of a section of the passageway that went through Sleeping Beauty castle.

Taking a breath, Serena broke into a light jog, heading out into the sunlit path and across a small bridge that crossed the castle moat.

* * *

Perched in a windowsill, Figaro the cat snoozed quietly—until the thumping, clapping sounds of Serena's running boots came rushing under the overpass and clattered across the stone paths of the paved Fantasy Faire pavilion. Mechanically, the eyelids on Figaro shot up, and his eyes darted back towards the ground where Serena was standing, then narrowed. Shutting his eyes for only a moment, Figaro took a long yawn, his little mechanical jaw sliding down to let out a squeaking, meowing sound before he lowered his head and readied himself to sleep some more. Then, a high, gentle chirping squeaked from a bird just beside him. A brassy, classical birdcage had been set on the windowsill, and a mechanical blue bird chirped gently and watched Figaro—until Figaro raised his head and meowed, pawing in defiance at it, ready to return to his sleep.

Serena reached the center of the pavilion, reaching a tall statue of a tower with a crooked, pointed roof and a figure of Rapunzel leaning out of the window, her infinitely long hair reaching down and swirling the tower. At the base of the tower, she sat herself down on the steps of it, taking a breath and letting herself relax. Her knees pressed together and her arms wrapped around them, thinking to herself silently.

As Serena's head turned to look around the pavilion, she listened through the gentle sounds of conversation that surrounded her, mixed in with the bright and gallivanting sound of Disney's most popular fantasy themes. It took her a moment, but she picked out the distinct sound of Bonnie's voice at the end of the space. When she turned her head, her eyes widened in terror at what could possibly be transpiring.

"You sure are a very pretty Snow White. You could almost pass for the real thing! Are you sure you're not her?"

"Of course I'm cute! That's why I have to meet her!" Bonnie pouted, sounding annoyed with the lady.

An ice cream cart, decked out with all the traditional Fantasyland patterns on its mint-green body, sat beneath an umbrella, with a register parked on one end and a topiary of various faux ice cream options towering up a small post on the other. A female cast member, decked out in typical Fantasyland wear with an equally mint-green tunic vest over a puffy, loose, oversized shirt and short dark pants, stood behind the ice cream cart and seemed enthralled by Bonnie's Snow White costume—all while she prepared several different ice cream options from the open metal door of the ice cream cart in front of her.

Bonnie rocked back and forth anxiously on her dapper red shoes, the ends of her dress swaying gently in the wind beside her. Down at the front of the cart, Dedenne pawed at the surface of the cart and looked up at the ice cream treats in the cast member's hand, his drool dribbling onto the front of his costume.

Serena slowly got to her feet, looking on at the scene like there was something very, very wrong. She hurried along, realizing that the cast member was waiting for Bonnie to pay.

"Well, whenever Snow White just happens to show up, I'm sure you'll see her soon enough," the lady winked. "Now, that'll be—"

"Hold on," Bonnie interrupted, looking back when she heard Serena hurrying along. She gestured back to her, nodding over her shoulder, still somewhat annoyed with the cast member. "I need one more Mickey Mouse ice cream thingy for my friend here."

"Bonnie," Serena quickly said, somewhat annoyed, reaching for behind her to her backpack for her backpack to pull out her wallet. "You should've told me you wanted ice cream earlier—now isn't the time."

As Serena had finally found the small pouch inside the open backpack that housed her clutched wallet, Serena felt Bonnie's hand swatting away at her backpack, making Serena's head snap up in sudden, reflexive rage. She lowered her arms and the backpack in her clutches away, turning her head down towards Bonnie to look at her indignantly. When she did, she could see just what was in front of Bonnie, and she saw a wad of several dozen Disney Dollars clutched in her hand. Serena backed away, letting her wallet slide back into her bag, zipping it back up and setting it aside.

"It's my money, I'll buy as many of these as I want," Bonnie huffed. "I'm surprised you're not more grateful, especially since I'm buying you one…"

Serena swallowed gently, her eyes deeply confused as she watched the scene unfold. Though she seemed embarrassed at the prospect of stepping over her bounds and seemingly taking advantage of Bonnie, she remembered where she was and that Bonnie was just being ridiculous. She narrowed her eyes in exasperation, sighing and folding her arms, looking away. "My mistake…"

The cast member produced three more of the ice cream treats—chocolate-dipped pops in the shape of Mickey Mouse—all on sticks that she clutched in a hand. She smiled, looking down at Bonnie, letting Bonnie reach up and snatch her and Dedenne's out of her hand.

"Now, I'd _really_ really like to see Snow White," said Bonnie, looking somewhat coy as she dabbed her fingertip on her tongue and forked out several bills from the stack in her hand, "and I don't want to wait several hours in line. So, could you give me a little bit more of a specific time?" Bonnie said with a big, thin-lipped grin, handing up the bills to the cast member with a wink.

As Bonnie passed the Disney Dollars onto the cast member, Serena eyed the haphazard stack of bills inside her hand as they leafed in the wind, held out on the end an arm Bonnie had to get on her tip-toes to reach out with properly. By Serena's count, Bonnie had several more dollars in her hand that the ice cream treats cost, leading to a single, terrifying conclusion: Bonnie was bribing the lady. The half-annoyed, half-amused look on Serena's face was suddenly wiped away, her wide eyes and careful lips appearing when she realized that Bonnie wasn't just goofing around as usual.

Serena swatted out at where Bonnie's arm was reaching. She then grabbed her by the shoulder, yanking her back and giving her a stern look. She then reached for where Bonnie clutched her Disney Dollars close to her chest, yanking at them and doing her best to confiscate them.

" _Bonnie_ , what's gotten into you?" Serena huffed. Her face was mothering, her voice tensed when she felt Bonnie pulling back and resisting her grip on the Disney Dollars.

Bonnie gritted her teeth, yanking back on the dollars—eyeing the ice cream treats in her hand as she tightened her grip on them to not accidentally dump them all over the path. "What's gotten into _me_? Serena, what the heck? Stop it!"

Managing to pull herself and her dollars free from Serena, Bonnie hopped and narrowly stumbled back, a hand catching herself on the side of the ice cream cart when Dedenne showed up by her side and down underneath where Bonnie should've planted a leg. She looked disheveled for a moment, a blond lock of hair coming out of order on her head and fraying upward, the puffy shoulders on her Snow White dress sitting wrong with a naked shoulder out and the puffy fabric section jammed up underneath her chin. Bonnie pouted, her face red with indignance, her bright eyes narrowed in anger as she straightened herself out and blew away the offending lock of hanging hair with an upward jet of breath from her pursed lips.

As she straightened out her shoulder with the hand that clutched the dollars, Bonnie then felt a hand on her shoulder from Serena, making her turn her head and look back at where Serena was. She had squatted down beside her, comfortingly like a big sister, quickly fixing the sleeves on her shoulder and smoothing back her hair—all to which Bonnie fumed silently and replayed the last few seconds in her head, her hands in fists by her side as she stood there on the path in tense form.

"Bonnie…" Serena began, seeming like she was on the verge of apologizing—just before her tone turned to be more confrontational, more scolding and educating. Her grip became intense as she, squatting beside Bonnie, turned her to face her and see the wrinkled expression on her face. "Bonnie listen, you can't just— _grrkkk!_ "

Bonnie rammed one of the Mickey Mouse ice cream treats into Serena's mouth, ears and all, splitting Serena's mouth open wide as she took it between her teeth. As Serena choked, her lips suddenly stretched to duck bill proportions as she could barely fit the round apex of the Mickey Mouse head in her mouth, Bonnie felt Serena's hands relinquish on her shoulders as she reached for the wooden popsicle stick that hung out of her mouth. With a wink, Bonnie handed down the remaining ice cream treat to Dedenne, then hopped up back to the front of the ice cream cart with all of her Disney Dollars in hand—bribe included.

The cast member behind the cart had looked on at the scene, holding back her laughter. Serena, who had been squatted down beside Bonnie had suddenly lost her balance and was sprawled out on her back on the path beneath her, her arms reaching clumsily around her for some kind of support and to find the popsicle stick on the ice cream treat wedged in her mouth—somehow unable to decide between doing both. Muffled groans of protest and terror came from Serena as she shook her head and sputtered out incoherent curses—a sight that broke the cast member and made her laugh.

"Aheheh… Oh goodness…" the cast member laughed, wiping away a tear from her eye with the heel of her hand. "Your friend isn't lactose intolerant, is she?"

"No," Bonnie grinned, her head barely poking above the edge of the cart as she wielded her dollars, fishing them up towards the cast member. "Just boring."

The cast member took the fistful of dollars from Bonnie, hitting a key on the register and popping open the cash drawer. She quickly counted and separated the dozen or so bills from the stack, then fished out the ones that Bonnie had given as 'incentive', setting them back on the counter as she slipped the real amount into the register.

As the drawer slammed shut and the receipt printed from the top of the register, Bonnie's face that she was barely able to keep above the edge of the ice cream cart silently lost its playful expression. The bribe Disney Dollars were still on the counter, and as the receipt finally printed and the cast member tore it free, she took the Disney Dollars off the counter and folded the receipt over them, handing it to Bonnie.

"Receipt and change," the lady smiled, offering it back to Bonnie.

Reaching up, hesitantly, Bonnie took the receipt and cash back, holding it in her hand and over the counter for a moment like the lady might possibly take it back. She looked between the cash in hand and back at the lady, meeting with her placid smile and waiting eyes. Bonnie looked more confused than anything, and even a little indignant—all that fuss, all that work of fending off Serena and talking smooth, and nothing to come of it. She frowned, taking the dollars back and putting them back in a pouch that had been sewn into the front of her dress.

"Well, since you asked so nicely…" the lady smiled, fidgeting with the steel door on the top of the ice cream cart before lifting it and reaching in, outside of Bonnie's vision—reminding Bonnie that she still had paid for one more ice cream treat. "I heard from a little Pidgey that Snow White will be at the entrance to Sleeping Beauty Castle at about three o'clock—and I know for a fact that _that_ Pidgey hangs out with Snow White fairly often, and helps do the dishes."

Bonnie was staring ahead, already plotting out what to do with that little sliver of information, her eyes aglow with potential as she kept replaying the words in her head. She only left her daydream when the hazy reflection in front of her on the silvery steel door of the ice cream cart dropped down and sealed like a fridge-like thunk, the cast member wielding another ice cream treat in her hand and offering it out in front of Bonnie's face. Though she was still somewhat stunned at having successfully gotten the information out of her, Bonnie looked up for a moment with bright, excited and childlike eyes. She smiled a thankful smile, reaching out and taking the bottom end of the stick from the cast member's hand taking it with her.

"Lady, you've been far too helpful," Bonnie said, putting on her savvy, smooth-talking grin again.

"I'm only telling you because I know you'll help your friend over there get her pop out of her mouth, right?" the cast member said, her tone firmer than Bonnie had heard before.

Bonnie nodded. "Yes ma'am!"

"And…" The cast member leaned back, lifting an arm that had been hidden out of Bonnie's sight beneath the edge of the ice cream cart and revealing another, Mickey Mouse shaped, chocolate-dipped ice cream treat on a popsicle stick—one that Bonnie hadn't paid for. She then reached out with a knowing smile, offering it to Bonnie. "…you'll replace the ruined pop with a new one, right?"

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

Serena still had melty chocolate smeared around her lips, even as she tried to clean them off with one of many dozen napkins in her hand. She checked the selfie camera on her Pokedex, making sure that she had completely cleared it once again before closing the pink clamshell on the device and letting it slip in the topmost pouch of her bag, closing it and settling the bag back where it sat on the ground between her feet. She then sat herself back up in the bench, coming to slouch against the lacquered wooden boards that braced the backside of it. Her arms folded and fell into her lap, somewhat defeatedly, as she took a sigh and tossed the wadded up napkin that remained in her hand over towards an open, waiting trash bin beside the bench.

"Are you gonna eat this, Serena?"

By her side, Bonnie had finished slurping up the milky, dark chocolate that remained on the popsicle stick in her hand. In the other hand, she still wielded the ice cream treat she had been given for Serena, keeping it up and just out of reach of Dedenne—who had the only remains of his ice cream smeared all around his tiny maw.

Serena sighed, not even bothering to look over. She had thought about it for a moment, even imagining herself eating one, but then she remembered wedging the other ice cream treat out of her mouth. The jarring image of Bonnie standing over her, putting a foot on her chest and grabbing the ice cream treat by the stick and pulling it out with both hands stayed with her. She couldn't stomach remembering the 'after', where she had belched up the rest onto a shelf of neatly manicured garden at the end of a wall along a pathway.

"It's all yours…" Serena sighed. "I can't imagine why Clemont was so giddy to dump you on me."

"Just remember Serena, make the most of it," Bonnie said between bites. She quickly devoured half of the ice cream treat in only a few moments of Serena giving her permission—even making Serena wonder if she had even waited for permission when she saw how much progress she had made out of the corner of her eye. As Bonnie offered the other half of the chomped-into Mickey Mouse treat down to Dedenne, she grabbed the lone remaining napkin of the former large stack Serena had all but used up and cleaned herself.

Serena's gaze withered as she looked out at the Fantasyland skyline, doing her best to think about literally anything else.

"You're stuck with me, alright? So let's have some fun," Bonnie said, without a thought to Serena. "You can't just leave me."

* * *

Sections of chained-off queue looped around a spot in the central back end of Fantasyland, all around one large circular ride: Dumbo the Flying Elephant. All around a central, blossoming onion-like structure of bronzed metal work and steampunk-style gears were large fiberglass Dumbo elephants, all with pastel-colored saddles on them and large, wing-like ears. Attached on large, red metal arms and suspended over a watery pool, they had just been loaded with guests and the doors on the side of them had just been shut. A cast member closed the chain on the gate, stepping back under his umbrella and putting himself behind the large control console of the ride.

Bonnie's whole body was pressed to the gate in front of her as she reached with a skinny arm to deposit the popsicle sticks that had once held the Mickey Mouse ice cream treats into a waste basket that stood just beside the cast member at his console. With precision, Bonnie shutting an eye to focus her aim and putting her tongue out between her lips for good measure, she flicked the trash out and sent it sailing into the open top of the container, getting it to fall in perfectly. Down beside her, Dedenne cheered, leaping up and down.

Serena and Bonnie were close to the entrance, only a few people back in line. Serena was standing, absentmindedly, watching the ride while listening to the gentle organ music that one might find in a circus. Though Bonnie's antics were happening just below her, she paid no mind and ignored them mostly. Thinking of Bonnie and where they were and how they had gotten there and the ice cream and the fight with Jack Sparrow—all of it made Serena annoyed, and the only way she knew to _not_ get annoyed was to not think about it at all. She ignored it, instead focusing on the busy scenery ahead of her and lost herself in it.

As Bonnie slipped her arm back and stepped away from the fence, she had a furrowed expression on her brow. Even as she backed away, she still stared at the ride as the Dumbo elephants began to move, spinning and gently taking off the water.

"Serena… What's wrong with all the Donphan in that ride? They look sorta pudgy or something."

"They're supposed to be elephants, like the original cartoon," explained Serena, sounding placid and mechanical, doing nothing to hide her uninterest. "Elephants are a mythological creature that come from a place far south of Kalos. They used to be in stories and other myths, and that's what they used."

"But… Why not use Donphan? Couldn't they incorporate it so it's a little more realistic?"

Serena ignored Bonnie's question. Instead, she folded her arms, looking up and away, staring up at the ride as the shadows of passing, flying Dumbo overhead crossed over them.

A long silence passed between the two of them—long enough for the cast member eventually to announce that the ride was over, and for the arms that held the flying Dumbo to lower down until the stumpy, reaching feet of the elephants grazed the water beneath them and came to a complete stop. All of the doors were opened by a different cast member as she raced around to get up to the doors on the sides of the elephants and open them one at a time, speedwalking around exiting crowds of people. Soon enough, the chain that had held back the front of the line had been relinquished, and the front of the line—including Bonnie and Serena—were led out onto the wide curved area and allowed to choose whatever Dumbo they wanted.

Serena walked out onto the pathway that circled the open Dumbo elephants casually, fully expecting Bonnie to race up from behind Serena and choose whatever color of Dumbo she was feeling at that moment. When she didn't, and Serena was alone on the path, she looked back to see where Bonnie had gone—even momentarily suspecting that something was wrong. To her surprise, when she looked back, Bonnie was following just as casually behind and with as little interest as Serena had. It made Serena pause, stopping her walk and letting the flow of people walk behind her—and inadvertently letting Bonnie walk ahead, Serena's head turning and tracking, watching as Bonnie walked ahead of her without a thought of her.

Standing there did Serena no good, and she quickly hurried along the path to reach and catch up with Bonnie, watching as Bonnie had already picked out a Dumbo to ride in. Once she had reached it, she hesitated outside of it—seeing out of the corner of her eye that the loading cast member was coming around again to secure the doors on it, and that Serena had a few moments. Still, she was stopped silent when she saw the expression on Bonnie's face—she was angry, annoyed, her lips in a pout and her arms folded, her leg bouncing on a tapping foot as she waited for the ride to start and get itself over with.

Deeply, deeply confused, Serena slipped into the Dumbo and sat herself down on the worn, fiberglass bench, the knees of her long legs barely above the front opening of the Dumbo seat. Her boot soles thumped on the bottom of the floor, sending a shimmy through the suspended elephant and making an unusually hollow sound. Her hips were pressed up against Bonnie's, and though she saw that Dedenne was still very excited to ride the ride, she couldn't bring herself to look over at Bonnie and see what was happening.

" _..._ _hands, arms, feet and legs, inside—remember to watch your kids, and Pokemon!_ " Timothy Q. Mouse, the host of the ride, lisped as he gave the pre-flight announcements. " _To make Dumbo fly higher,_ _just_ _use the magic lever in front of you!_ "

"Bonnie, what's wrong?" Serena asked, finally looking down at where Bonnie was by her side. Though she was a little more impatient than she meant, she said it without an ounce of skepticism, genuinely worried for Bonnie. She looked on, watching Bonnie fidget in the seat beside her, coming up with an answer.

Finally, Bonnie turned her eyes up to Serena, defiantly. Her nose wrinkled with childish, impotent rage.

"I know I'm not Ash, alright?" said Bonnie, getting the words out quickly like she was ripping a bandage off.

Serena blinked. For all the things she thought it could have been, she hadn't really expected this. Was it really that obvious that she'd rather be hanging out with Ash? She hadn't really brought it up or even talked about it with Bonnie. She thought she had tried to make the best of that decision. At the end of the day, it really had driven all of her decisions up until that point. Her eyes lightened, looking sympathetic, her tense posture in the small—yet sizable—Dumbo elephant ride car relaxed a bit as she leaned an arm over the side.

Then again, why was it Serena's fault? Serena hadn't told Bonnie to get ice cream. It wasn't Serena's fault that she had a Mickey Mouse treat rammed into her mouth, or that she had spat it back out in chunks all over a neatly-trimmed topiary. After all, Serena was the one who had been practically babysitting Bonnie ever since they had left New Orleans Square. There hadn't been a moment in Fantasyland that wasn't an absolute disaster. Serena narrowed her eyes, looking deeply annoyed, her face darkening as each poisonous thought blossomed in her brain.

"You don't think I know that already?" Serena shot back, turning to Bonnie, catching her off-guard.

Bonnie hadn't expected Serena to come back with anything—in fact, she had been banking on Serena feeling bad for Bonnie. It put her on the defensive, sitting up a little more on the Dumbo bench. "Maybe if you stopped— _arrrgggh—_ if you stopped treating me like I'm supposed to be all 'yes milady' and 'whatever Serena wants', all 'I'm sensitive to whatever Serena feels, I'm such a dreamboat', then maybe we could actually have some _fun_!"

"Fun? Is that what you think this is? _Fun_?"

Just then, the Dumbo they were sitting in plunged forward, dropping for a moment before slowly raising back up and slowly accelerating. A hydraulic arm kept them suspended above the water, humming audibly as the arm slowly lifted them into the air and sent them flying around in a gentle arc. Dumbo reached his apex, wavering in air as they came around and seemingly flew over the gathered crowds in the queue line in front of them, then glided around back towards an open vista of the park—the blue, pink and purple tent roof of the King Arthur Carousel as its gleaming golden inner workings turned beneath it, the stony outer structure of Sleeping Beauty Castle's lower show buildings for rides like Pinocchio's Daring Journey and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, all the way up to the bright snowy side of the Matterhorn.

The Dumbo suddenly dropped, then flew back up, wavering frantically in-air. Though Serena panicked for a moment, wondering if they were about to hurtle down into the ground, she looked in front of the inner car of the Dumbo ride and watched as Dedenne wavered the 'magic lever', raising it up and down to raise and lower Dumbo. Though Serena reached for the sides of the inner car, holding herself to gain some sense of stability and not throw up, she watched as Bonnie then grabbed for Dedenne and yanked him back into her lap, his arms still reaching for the linger black joystick.

"Of _course_ it's supposed to be fun—listen to yourself!" Bonnie protested, holding down the squirming Dedenne to keep him from getting free or inadvertently launching himself over the side. The whipping wind of the quick-turning ride made Bonnie's perfectly postured hair whip around across her forehead, muffling her voice gently and intensifying the annoyed look on her face.

As the wind picked up, the Dumbo reaching higher into the sky, Serena reached to keep her hat on. It didn't distract her enough from forgetting what Bonnie had said—in fact, she almost wished she could. The words were the only think she could think of at the moment, and she couldn't shake them from her subconscious no matter how hard she tried.

"Serena, _you_ chose not to go with Ash. You _chose_."

" _What was I supposed to do?_ " Serena shot back at Bonnie, her voice at a shrill shout above the shrill wind.

Bonnie's eyes went wide with shock when she heard Serena say the startling words. Her anger resolving and taking deeper root in her, she then sat herself back down, thumping against the fiberglass bench and making the Dumbo drop for only a moment, just as the arm slowly raised the both of them back up as they went around for another flying pass. She folded her arms tightly, keeping Dedenne in her lap and turning her head away.

The break in the conversation bothered Serena a lot—it seemed to stop up some part of Serena's consciousness, making her fidget in her seat. Her arms tried a dozen different positions from where she was sitting in her side of the Dumbo, from resting it on the outside to tucking them neatly in her lap and safe inside the inner car. Finally she sat herself up, looking at Bonnie in defiance of her silence.

"Bonnie—are you listening?"

"I'm listening, I'm just not talking—you told me to shut up, remember?" Bonnie spat out, refusing to look at Serena.

A deep, angry snort left Serena's nostrils as she paced herself. As she thought to herself, she felt the Dumbo slowly begin to descend—her eyes first darting to the joystick in the center of the front inner car to see that Dedenne hadn't somehow gotten loose, then seeing that it wasn't the joystick or 'magic lever' that was lowering them. The ride was ending, and the Dumbo they sat in was on a descending trajectory towards the pool of water in the the very bottom of the ride concourse.

"Fine Bonnie, you want to be treated like an adult?"

Bonnie wouldn't look up. She ignored Serena.

The ride slowed to a halt, and Bonnie was staring ahead of the Dumbo they sat in, looking just past the nose of it and looking at the limp tail that had been sculpted onto the Dumbo in front of them. A cast member was coming around on the paved concourse, going to each of the Dumbo vehicles and undoing the doors on them—stopped up a few Dumbo cars ahead of them as she wrestled with someone's seatbelt for a moment.

Serena was watching Bonnie, waiting for her to look up and look back at her, waiting for her to acknowledge the threat that she had laid out. When Bonnie finally looked up and back at her, it was to look at her once again in defiance—she was testing Serena, waiting for her to make her threat real.

"Then..." Serena began, finally gathering the courage to say it: "Then you're on your own!"


End file.
